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MEMOIRS 



GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER, 



COM!' RISING 



Jit-- 

The Leading Events of His Career 



CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED, WITH SELECTIONS FROM HIS 

SPEECHES, LECTURES AND MISCELLANEOUS 

WRITINGS, INCLUDING 



PERSONAL REMINISCENCES. 



By MICHAEL CAVANAGH, 

SECRETARY TO JOHN O'MAHONEY, H. C. FENIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



WORCESTER, MASS. 

THE MESSENGER PRESS, 

1892. 






Copyrighted 1892, 
BY MICHAEL CAVANAGH. 






© 



DEDICATION. 



'"Oh, brave young tueu, my love, my pride, and promise, 
Tis on you my hopes are set, 
In manliness, in kindliness, in justice, 
To make Erin a nation yet."' 



To the Young Men of the Irish Race who are devoted to the 
principles of National Liberty which Thomas Francis Meagher so 
nobly inculcated, and t for the perpetuation of which he so bravely 
fought, I dedicate this record of his career, hoping that therein they 
might find an incentive and an inspiration to profit by his precepts and, 
to the best of their ability, to emulate his example. 

MICHAEL CAVANAGH. 
Washington, D. C. 

1692. 



PREFACE. 



In undertaking to write a memoir of Thomas Francis Meagher, I have been 
actuated, in the first place, by a desire to pay a tribute of affectionate re- 
spect to the memory of an illustrious fellow-countryman, a patriot of whom 
I had been an enthusiastic admirer since boyhood — and with whose confidence 
I was honored from the moment of our first personal acquaintance, in 1848, 
to the day on which he left New York for Montana — in the summer of 
18G5. 

In the next place, I wished to enable the present generation of young 
men of Irish birth or blood, to estimate this gifted scion of their race as 
their fathers — his contemporaries — did, by placing before them a record 
comprising the leading events of his career, compiled from various authentic 
sources of information — and in which will be found selections from his 
speeches, lectures, an.l miscellaneous writings, together with such personal 
reminisce-ices as may serve to add somewhat to the interest of the book — 
through what little side-light they throw upon his history, and the glimpses 
they revc il of his genuine Irish nature. 

I was, furthermore, influenced to enter upon this labor of love by the 
reflection that, while treating of the national movement in Ireland, in 1848, 
— in which undertaking it was my purport to make Thomas Francis Meagher 
the central figure — I could, by recording my personal recollections of some 
of Mr. Meagher's most distinguished compatriots, and of current events — 
as they transpired under my observation, both in Dublin and the South of 
Ireland contribute some interesting facts to the, hitherto, unwritten history 
of that memorable year. 

Whether I have executed my self-imposed task in a satisfactory manner 
or otherwise, my readers must decide. I presume most of them will base 
their judgment less upon the literary merit of the work than upon their 
individual predilections regarding its subject. Should my surmise prove 
correct, I'll feel content; for, though, in the course of my narrative, I have 
conscientiously striven to be truthful, I had no thought of being coldly 
impartial — where country or friend was the subject of my theme. 

M. C. 



TABLE OP CONTENTS. 



Introduction, .... 

CHAPTER I. 

Genealogy of the O'Meaghers, 

CHAPTER II. 

Parentage and birth of Thomas Francis Meagher. 

CHAPTER III. 
Leaving home, .... 

CHAPTER IV. 

Clongowe's College, 

CHAPTER V. 

Meagher and Shiel — Old Catholic Leaders, 

CHAPTER VI. 
In Stonyhurst College, 

CHAPTER VII. 
"1843," ..... 

CHAPTER VIII. 

1844-1845. The State trials — Home recreations, 

CHAPTER IX. 

Death of Thomas Davis. Meagher's entry into political life, 

CHAPTER X. 
A change of base, ..... 

CHAPTER XL 
The Secession, ...... 

CHAPTER XII. 
Consequences of the Secession, .... 

CHAPTER XIII. 
" Speranza," on Meagher, .... 

CHAPTER XIV. 
From the Secession, to the formation of the Irish Confederation, 

CHAPTER XV. 

1847. The Irish Confederation. The famine, 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Duffy, on parliamentary obstruction. Mitchell for sterner measures, 

CHAPTER XVII. 
O'Brien's resolutions. Meagher's speech, . 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Waterford election, 1848, . 

CHAPTER XIX. 
The French Revolution, ...... 

CHAPTER XX. 
Dublin Voices the National Sentiment, . . . . 



12 
15 
19 
24 
27 
32 
36 
46 
51 
56 
67 
70 
73 
76 
81 
83 
89 
97 
100 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

An eventful week in the Irish capital, 

CHAPTEE XXII. 

In the city of the barricades, 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Meagher in Paris, 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The Dublin club -men, April, 1848, 

. CHAPTER XXV. 

Revival of an old Irish industry, 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Three veterans of ninety -eight 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

The treason-felony bill, — O'Brien's speech April 10, 1848, 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Welcome to Smith O'Brien. Meagher's impressions of France, 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Disaffected soldiers. A castle plot foiled, . 

CHAPTER XXX. 

By the Shannon and the Suir, 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Arrest of John Mitchel. Smith O'Brien's trial, 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Through Petticoat lane, 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

O'Brien and Meagher discharged, . 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The test of manhood, 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

The meeting. Scraps^ of history, 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 



Constitutional conspirators, 



The felon, 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Mitchell's transportation. Meagher vindicates the clubs. 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Meeting the exigency, June, 1848, 

CHAPTER XL. 

Castle tactics. Marked for vengence, 

CHAPTER XLI. 

Waterford and Cashel. Memoir of Michael Doheny. 

CHAPTER XLII. 

The Slievenamon meeting, July 16th, 1848, 

CHAPTER XLIII. 

Government and clubs. Habeas Corpus Act suspended, 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

Taking the field, ..... 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER L. 
CHAPTER LI. 
CHAPTER LII. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

" Following the leader," . 

CHAPTER XLVI. 
Extract from John O'Mahony's personal narrative. 

CHAPTER XLVIL 
The failure and its alleged causes, 

CHAPTER XLVI II. 
The penalty of patriotism. 

CHAPTER XLIX. 
Closing scenes. 

Life in Australia, 

Meagher in America, 

A happy re -union. 

CHAPTER LHI. 

Meagher's response to America's welcome, 

CHAPTER LIV. 

The citizen soldiers honor the exile. 

CHAPTER LV. 
A clear field and no favor, 

CHAPTER LVI. 

From December, 1853, to April, 1861, 

CHAPTER LVI I. 

Prince of Wales visit. Meagher on Corcoran, 

CHAPTER LVIII. 
Opening of the War for the Union, 

CHAPTER LIX. 
Departure of the Sixty- ninth, .... 

CHAPTURE LX. 

Meagher's Irish Zouaves — reminiscences of Fort Corcoran, 

CHAPTER LXI. 
The Bull-run Campaign. ..... 

CHAPTER LXII. 
McManus' funeral — The welcome home, 

CHAPTER LXIII. 

Departure of the Irish Brigade. Meagher and Shields, 

CHAPTER LXIV. 
Meagher, Brigadier- General. The Irish Brigade at Fair Oaks, 

CHAPTER LXV. 

Fair Oaks to Malvern Hill. Meagher in New York. 

CHAPTER IX VI. 

Antietrim — Fredericksburg — Chancellorville, 

CHAPTER LXVII. 
Honors to Gen. Meagher. Enrolled a Fenian. Meagher in Tennessee, 

Appendix. 



253 



GENERAL THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



IRELAND'S SOLDIER-ORATOR. 



"in bit beauty and Ms youth, the Apostle of the Truth, 
Goes he forth with the words of Salvation, 
And a noble nadness falls on each spirit he enthralls, 
As he chants his wild Paeans to the nation."— Sperahza. 



INTRODUCTION. 

In undertaking to write a memoir of Thomas Francis Meagher, I have been 
actuated, in the first place, by a desire to pay a tribute of affectionate respect to the 
memory of an illustrious fellow-countryman, a patriot of whom I had been an 
enthusiastic admirer since boyhood, and with whose confidence I was honored from 
the moment of our first personal acquaintance, in 1848, to the last year of his life. 

In the next place, I wished to enable the present generation of the young men 
of our race to estimate him as then* fathers, his contemporaries, did, — by compiling 
from materials collected from various sources, a single work, comprising the 
leading events of his career, — and in which will be found selections from his 
speeches, lectures, and miscellaneous writings, together with such personal remin- 
iscences as may serve to add to the interest of the work through the little additional 
lighfrthey throw upon his history, and the glimpses they reveal of his genuine Irish 
nfture. 

In preparing the memoir, I have tried to arrange its component parts in chron- 
ological order, including the dates of the speeches, &c. I find it expedient to 
diverge from this plan in the single instance relating to my first personal interview 
with Sir. Meagher, and I therefore insert it here in preference to introducing it into 
the body of the work. 

The occurrence took place in the meeting-room of the " Swift Confederate 
Club," in Queen street, Dublin, on March 28th, 1848. 



6 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

At the previous weekly meeting of the club, my name and that of my cousin 
and fellow towns-boy, Dan. Magrath, had been proposed for membership by an eld 
acquaintance of Dan's, and a most prominent club-man, " Bob Ward," and we 
attended on this occasion to be initiated. While waiting to have our names called, 
we took seats on a bench at one side of the room. In a few minutes thereafter, the 
President of the Club, Richard O'Gorman, Jr., (now the Hon. Judge O'Gorman of 
New York,) entered the room, accompanied by Thomas Francis Meagher, and 
while the former gentleman proceeded to take the chair, preparatory to transacting 
the business of the evening, Mr. Meagher seated himself beside me on the bench. I 
had seen him, for the first time, a week previously, at the great open-air meeting 
held near the North Wall, Dublin, for the purpose of adopting a "Congratulatory 
Address from the Trades and Citizens of Dublin to the Citizens of the French 
Republic," so his person was known to me by sight. It so happened that the 
Secretary of the Club had entered my name on the book as " John," and as such it 
was read to the meeting, with my comrade's, previous to taking the vote on our 
admission. Whereupon our proposer, Bob Ward, exclaimed that " Michael," not 
" John," was the Cappoquin boy's name, and called on me to confirm his statement 
—which I did. Meagher appeared interested on hearing Cappoquin mentioned, and 
when he found 't was my name was referred to in connection therewith, he turned 
to me and, extending his hand, said :— 
" So you are from Cappoquin ! " 

I replied in the affirmative for self and comrade, and introduced Dan. to Mr. 
Meagher. 

He then asked : " What brought ye to Dublin?" 

I told him that, a month previously, we had made arrangements to go to 
America— (by way of Dublin— as we wanted to see our Nation's Capital before 
leaving it— perhaps for ever) ; but that the news of the French Revolution caused 
us to change our plan, and we decided to go to Dublin — and stay there to take a hand 
in the game— when the " ball was up I '' 

He approved of our resolution — and I remarked :— 
" So you're going to Paris, Mr. Meagher? " 
'• Yes ! " he replied, " we leave to-morrow ! " 

" I hope you'll be as successful there as Wolfe Tone was," I remarked. 
" It won't be my fault if we don't, my boy," was the earnest response. 
At this time the routine business of the night was transacted, and Mr. Meagher 
was called on to address the Club, so our first interview terminated. After a brief 
address he retired with Mr. O'Gorman, as both gentlemen had to visit other clubs 
the same evening. I had another cordial shake-hands before he left, as I wished 
him " God speed and safe return ! " 

From that night until our last shake-hands, on the day he left New York for 



INTBODUCTION.. 



Montana, in 1S65, our relations continued to be most cordial, and, in all that 
concerned Ireland, our intercourse was as unrestricted and unconventional as at our 
first interview on that memorable night in '48. 

Would that it were his dear friend and companion on that eventful day who 
had undertaken the " labor of love " that I, in attempting this memoir, have 
assumed. He alone, of all living men, could do the subject adequate justice ; for, in 
both hemispheres, they stood in closest relationship to each other personally and 
politically of all their youthful compatriots, and no two could more closely 
resemble one another in generous impulses, warmth of heart, affability of manner, 
and that rare gift of heaven-inspired eloquence which won them the innermost place 
in the hearts of sympathetic audiences at either side of the Atlantic. 

On the evening of the day on whichlthe obsequies of General Meagher were 
celebrated in the Church of St. Francis Xavier, New York, Richard O'Gormau, in 
the Cooper Institute, paid his tribute of affection to the memory of his departed 
friend in one of the grandest and most pathetic funeral orations ever delivered. It 
will be found in its appropriate place in this work, whereby, as my humble votive 
offering, I place a stone on the Hero's " Memorial Cairn! " 

m. c. 



GENEALOGY OF THE MEAGHEBS. 



CHAPTER I. 

GENEALOGY OF THE O'MEAGHERS 

"Powerfully have they peopled their land, 
The O'Meaghers of the land of Ul Carln, 
The tribe who dwell at Bearnan Eli. 
It is right to extol their fame'*— O'Heerin. 

But few Irish families of the present day can claim a nobler origin, or trace 
their descent through a longer, continuous line of hereditary chieftains than the 
O'Meaghers of Ikerrin, county of Tipperary. For fifty generations, extending 
through fifteen centuries, a chief of the race ruled their ancestral tribeland of Crich- 
Ui-Cairin, (Kreeh-ee-Karrin,) i. e. O'Carin's territory, the country in the immediate 
vicinity of the celebrated "Bearnan Eli," (Gap, or Pass of Eli,) now vulgarly 
known as the "Devil's Bit Mountain." 

This ancient race derive their descent from Kian, the third son of Olild Olum, 
who was the first king of the line of Eber, who is named in the " Beim Eighraidhe," 
("Royal Roll,") as having ruled the two provinces, or pentarchates of Munster. 
Olild Olum was a contemporary of Art Aeinfer, son of " Con of the Hundred 
Battles, and Monarch of Ireland in the middle of the second century of the Christian 
era. 

Olild reigned King of Munster for sixty years. He had in all nineteen sons, 
nine of whom were by his wife Sadb, (Soive,) daughter of "Con of the Hundred 
Battles." Of these nine, seven were killed in one battle, that of Magh Mocrumhi, 
(Moy Mockriovie,) among them his eldest son Eogan, from whose son, Fiacaidh 
Mul-Lathan, sprang the races of MacCarthy, O'Callaghan, O'Keefe and O'Sul- 
livan, with their kindred branches. From Cormac Cas, and Kian, the two of 
Olild's sons that returned from the battle of .Magh Mocrumhi, are descended the 
following septs : From Cormac Cas, Olild's second son who left a progeny after 
him, are descended the Dal g-Cais, (Daul-gash,) of which tribe the O'Briens were 
the principal family; the Siol Achda, (Sheel Aye,) that is the clan of MacConmara, 
(MacXamara,) and the Siol g -Clannchadha, (Sheel-Glanghuee,) (MacClanchy ) . 

From Kian, the third son of Olild Olum, who left a progeny after him, have 
sprung the clans of O'Kerbhail, (i. e. O'Carroll,) O'Meachair, (i. e. O'Meagher,) 
O'h-Eadhra, (i. e. O'Hara,) O'Ghadhra, (i. e. O'Gara or Giurg,) O'Cathasaigh, (i. e. 
O'Casey,) and 0* Conchobhair of Kiannacht, (i. e. O'Connor of Keenaght in Ulster). 

From the foregoing it will be seen that Olild Olum was the founder of the 



10 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

Eberian sway in Minister, and from him sprung all the clans that, thenceforth, 
were able to lay claim to its sovereignty. He must have been both a great and an 
able prince, to have established the supremacy of his race upon such solid founda- 
tions in times of such extreme convulsion ; for his dynasty continued to rule the 
south of Ireland in spite of intestine and external wars, from his own time down to 
the English invasion. 

It was, however, to the descendants of Eogan, and Cormac Cas, that Olild 
Olum bequeathed the alternate sovereignty of Munster, and in them it was vested 
while Ireland continued independent. To Kian he left the territory of Oir Mumha, 
signifying East Munster, which bordered on Leinster and Meath, under the 
supremacy of the Kings of Munster. Ancient Ormond extended from Gabhran, 
(now Gowran,) in, the county of Kilkenny, westward to Cramhchoill, (now Cleghill) 
near the town of Tipperary ; its breadth was from Bearnan Eli, (now Barnane, on 
the Devil's Bit Mountain,) to O'Bric's Island, (near Bunmahon on the coast 
of Waterford). The territory of Eli, situated in the north-east of Ormond, got its 
name from Eli Righ derg, (the " Red-armed,") (eighth in descent from Kian,) one 
of its kings in the fifth century. It subsequently became known as Eli O'Carroll, 
from its being possessed by the O'Carrolls, who derive their name from Cearbhall, 
(Carroll,) seventeenth in direct descent from the before mentioned Eli Righderg. 
This Cearbhall commanded his own tribe (the Eli,) under Brian Boru, at the battle 
of Clontarf, in 1014. 

The teritory of Eli comprised the present baronies of Eli O'Carroll, Ballybritt, 
and Clonlisk, in the King's County, and those of Ikerrin and Elyogarthy in the 
county of Tipperary. The Elians from their frontier location, bore a very impor- 
tant part in all the wars for supremacy between the Heremonians and Heberians, 
respectively the dominant races of the North and South of Ireland. 

The O'Meaghers were, — next to their kinsmen the O'Carrolls, the most distin- 
guished sept of the Elian tribe ; their founder, Meachair, being the son of Tadh, the 
great-grand-son of Kian, the founder of all the tribes of the Kiannachta. They 
were the ruling clan of the territory of Vi Cairiu — the present barony of 
Ikerrin, — under the supremacy of the Princes of Eli for nearly a thousand years ; 
but, after the Anglo-Norman invasion, that part of the tribeland which lies in the 
county of Tipperary was detached from O'Carroll's supremacy and added to 
the earldom of "Ormond," but the native dynasts, O'Meagher of Ikerrin, and 
O'Fogarty of Elyogarthy, were allowed to remain in undisturbed possession 
as feudatories to the Norman Butlers, earls of Ormond, down to the end of 
the seventeenth century. 

That the clan Meagher maintained the fiery, unconquerable spirit of their 
fighting race, even in the period of Ireland's deepest gloom, is evident by the 
promptness with which they resented the insults of Aenghus O'Daly the satirist, 



GENEALOGY OF THE O'MEAGHEBS. 



who, in Elizabeth's time was hired by Sir George Carew, President of Minister, to 
lampoon the native Irish chiefs. And right well the rascal earned his pay, for the 
flood of contumely he poured forth on the subjects of his villification was never 
surpassed in bitterness of blackguardism. 

The devil-inspired rhymer at last met a reward he had not bargained for. His 
evil genius led him to the house of O'Meagher of Ikerrin at a time when the 
retainers of the chieftain were seated at supper in the ample kitchen. It seems 
that, at first, the owner of the mansion took no notice of the unwelcome intruder, 
whose person and occupation were well known through the country ; when, irritated 
at his indifferent reception, the saucy bard forgot his accustomed prudence, and— 
"halloed before he got out of the woods!" In other words, he gave vent to 
his ribald proclivities on the spot, in the Irish stanza of which the following is an 
English equivalent. 

" O'Meagher'a men feasted around a great fire,— 

A huge pot hung o'er it,— with blackberries stewing: 
'T were hard to say which it was— "kitchen" or "byre"— 
Where Meagher's old cow littered near his " home-brewlBf ." 

Incensed at this reflection on his chieftain, a retainer of CTMeagher's sprang 
up from the table, and, with the exclamation that "the 'Red Bard' should never 
satirize an O'Meagher because he did not at once recognize him," he made a thrust 
ol the sharp scian he held in his ready right hand into Aenghus's neck, so that he 
began to throw up his heart's blood on the spot. But before the old sinner died he 
said :— 

" I freely recall all the judgments unjust 

I passed on the chieftains of Munster, through spite: 

Grey Meagher's fierce henchman, with rapid knife thrust, 
His judgment dealt on me — and serred me just right." 

The O'Meaghers of Ikerrin finally experienced the fate of many another loyal 
Irish sept, and lost the remnant of their inheritance through the part they played 
in the Cromwellian and Williamite wars. They are still a numerous race in then- 
native territory, but most of them are tillers of the soil their ancestors ruled over 
for ages. A few of the name are among the landed gentry of Tipperary. One of 
these, the late Nicholas Maher, of Turtulla, near Thurles, was Member of Farlia- 
ment for his native county about fifty years ago ; but he was not particularly 
distinguished for either patriotism or ability, and, in this respect, was an average 
specimen of his class, — the Catholic landed gentry who were brought into political 
prominence through the Emancipation Act, at the sacrifice of thousands of their 
humble but devoted and uuselfish co-religionists— the " rank and file" of the Liber- 



12 ME MOILS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

ating Army — men who. with the uncontaminated blood, inherited the noblest 
attributes of their brave old race. 

On such men must ever depend the destinies of their Nation. For, ever since 
the time when the Celtic Chieftains degenerated into the Saxonized Landlords, r aud 
the free clansmen — joint-owners of their ancestral tribe-lands — became the treach- 
erous leaders' tenants-at-will, seldom, indeed, has the temporizing class contributed 
a prominent man to the cause of their country's nationality, and well it is for that 
cause'that its success is not dependent on their aid. For — " Blood will Tell!' 1 '' 



CHAPTER II. 

PARENTAGE AND BIKTH OF THOMAS FEANCIS MEAGHEB.— HIS 
EARLY BOYHOOD. 

In the latter half of the last century, a flourishing trade had sprung up 
between Ireland and Newfoundland. The latter Island was, for the most part 
colonized by emigrants from the former, such emigrants being principally from 
the maritime counties. But, in addition to those permanent settlers, there was a 
constant stream of transitory adventurers crossing the ocean between the two 
islands. These generally remained but a season or two working at the fisheries, 
and then returned to their native land with their hard-won savings, much as 
their countrymen who periodically visit England during the harvest season, do 
in our own days. Among the most flourishing of the merchants and traders of St. 
John's and Harbour-Grace, — in which places nearly all the commerce of the island 
was then centred — the natives of the city of Waterford and the neighboring town 
of New-Boss predominated — for these twin-ports were the Irish entrepots of 
nearly all the trade between the two countries at the time. There were, however, 
many successful and enterprising colonists from other parts of Ireland. Promi- 
nent among these was a Tipperary man named Meagher, one of the old stock of the 
O'Meaghers of Ui Cairin. He had been a farmer in his native country in early 
manhood, but preferred seeking his fortune in another and more independent 
sphere. He emigrated to Newfoundland, and became in turn a trader, a merchant 
and a ship-owner. He carried on a prosperous commerce between St. John's and 
Waterford city, where he eventually established his eldest son, Thomas, to repre- 
sent his interest. 



PARENTAGE AND BIRTH. — EARLY BOYHOOD. 13 

The young man soon became one of the most prosperous and esteemed 
merchants in Waterford. In course of time he married a daughter of a Mr. Quan, 
one of the partners in the flourishing Arm of " Wyse, Cushin and Quan." Quan, 
or, as it is called in Irish, O'Cain, is the name of an old Irish sept of the Desi tribe 
Which had taken deep root and still flourishes in its native district. 

The marriage of Thomas Meagher and Miss Quan took place in the private 
residence of the bride's family, situated on the Quay of Waterford. The building 
was afterwards known as the " Commin's Hotel." The young couple continued to 
reside there for some time, and it was in that house that their first child, Thomas 
Francis Meagher, was born on the 23th of August, 1823. 

Thus it came to pass, that the boy's first glance at the outer world lighted on 
the estuary of the noble river whose fountain-springs are situated in the ancestral 
patrimony of his father's race. Well might he love, and pride in, his native river 
and the storied land through which it flows,— for, within the length and breadth 
of " Green Erin of the Streams ! " both river and land are unsurpassed for natural 
beauty ; and no braver or better men tread the Irish soil than the high-spirited race 
whose national aspirations are strengthened and intensified by the contemplate n 
of their God-given heritage, and the glorious historical associations with which it is 
indissolubly connected. 

On the other hand, well may the country and its people be proud of him. His 
native city has given birth to many illustrious sons, patriots, scholars, soldiers 
and statesmen, but never to one, who at his age, so won the love and admiration 
of his compatriots at home ; for his patriotism, courage, genius and self-sacrifice ; 
or who, in his maturer years, more nobly maintained the gallantry of his ancient 
race with voice, and pen, and sword — in the forum, press, and field. 

The " Soldier-Orator " always prided in his being thoroughly Irish at both 
sides. And surely, the scion of a stock that kept possession of their ancient patri- 
mony against all comers for fifteen hundred years, may well glory in his affiliation 
with such a race of heroes. There are gallant soldiers and pure patriots of his 
name and race living to-day, both here and in their father's land ; many of them 
deeply imbued with the memories of the Kiannachta's ancestral glories, and some 
who have, in Freedom's cause, maintained their ancestral valor in the " Beama 
Baoghal " as bravely as any Meagher that ever confronted foe in " Bearnan Eli," 
but I venture to say in their behalf that, they glory more in the name and fame of 
the young leader of the Irish Brigade, than in that of any other hero of their 
fighting stock — not excepting Kian at Magh Macrumhi, or his namesake at 
Clontarf. 

In early childhood Thomas Francis Meagher experienced the first and greatest 
misfortune of his life, in the death of his mother. What influence the loss had 
upon his future destiny 't were hard to tell ; but to a nature so loving and suscep- 



14 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

tible as his, the desire to contribute to the happiness of a fond mother, must, in a 
great degree, tend to direct the current of his thoughts and control his actions, so 
as to merit her approbation and stimulate her maternal pride. 

The boy's irreparable loss was, however, mitigated by the affectionate care of 
his mother's maiden sister, Miss Quan, who devoted her life to his care and that of 
his younger brother, Henry, and who, in after years, was destined by Providence 
to exercise tbe same devoted care over her exiled nephew's motherless boy. 

The first ten years of Meagher's life were passed in his native city ; then he 
received his rudimentary education, and, in his boyish excursions through the 
beautiful country in its vicinity imbibed the enthusiastic admiration for the scenes 
Of his childhood which all the vicissitudes of after years could not obliterate from 
h 3 heart, or his memory. Nurtured amid such surroundings, his youthful imagin- 
tion inspired by the historical associations of mountain, valley, stream, and city, 
and his mind filled with legends of sequestered " Cromleac " or hill-seated " Cairn,'''' 
his full-blooded Irish nature was enabled to resist successfully the debilitating influ- 
ences of his college education, — which, while it succeeded in changing his native 
Munster accent could never hamper the Irish intellect which found expression 
through the scholastic idiom of his fiery tongue. 

There was one spot, situated within less than a mile of the house in which 
Meagher was born,— but at the opposite side of the noble Suir — where he, 
in common with all " Waterford boys," then and since, loved to seat himself, and 
enjoy a panorama which for beauty and diversity of scenery is unequalled in the 
immediate vicinity of any other Irish city. That favorite trysting-place some 
unfortunate but ambitious egotist — aspiring to perpetuate his chronic attribute, 
had, in a devil-inspired moment, denominated "Mount Misery!" A misnomer 
which could only emanate from the " Father of Lies." 

Listen to the description which,— in recalling it to his exiled friend's recollec- 
tion — one of Meagher's youthful playmates, Thomas W. Condon — the " Poet- 
Smith " — gives of their old observatory : — 

"Come, then, old friend, let us ascend 'Mount Misery.' 'Mount Mis- 
ery!' Was ever so great a misnomer? That beautiful spot, from which the 
eye collects into one vast picture such everlasting scenes of loveliness and 
peace. Far away to the west winds the beautiful Suir, circling like a band of 
silver the ' Golden Vale of Munster,' and looking down on which, in the 
blue distance, the grey giant of the Commeraghs is seen, with the clouds of heaven 
for his crown, and the turreted summit of Clonegam for his foot-stool. ' Mount 
Misery ! ' Town and tower, dark groves and distant spires, rich meadows and ripe 
corn-fields surround thee on every side. Seated on thy bald brow, of a summer 
evening, with the red sun setting like a globe of gold over Slivenamon, and the 
quiet moon rising, like a vestal with her silver lamp, over Cromwell's Fort, the 



LEAVING HOME. 15 



music of the vesper-trush echoing through the groves of Belmont or Newpark, and 
the mild cuckoo speaking her summer note from the distant woods of Kilaspy, — 
miserable must the man be, indeed, who, gazing on those charming scenes, 
listening to that soft music, and feeling the calm grey mantle of evening stealing 
its quiet robe round the mild form of nature, would not kneel on that rugged peak 
as if on Mount Tabor, and drinking the joy and peace by which he is surrounded, 
feel the chain of sorrow drop from his heart, the cloud of care fly from his brow, 
and forgetting earth, imagine the scenes by which he is surrounded to be visions of 
celestial bliss, and the glory and grandeur of a heavenly world." 

What Waterf ord man can read that description and not feel his heart swell and 
his eyes swim under the influence of the memories it evokes? What home-loving 
rishman can read it, and fail to understand the influence of such a spot on the 
fervid soul of the youthful patriot? 



CHAPTER III 



LEAVING HOME. 

"God bless you, dear old Waterford, hard by the silvery Snlr! 
God bless your hills and sweeping vales, your balmy air so pure; 
And may He prosper every home that studs your fertile plains, 
But the hill of Ballybrlcken most, for it's there my heart remains." 

John Walsh. 

From the banks of the noble, ship-studded Suir ; from jovial, bustling Bally- 
bricken — stronghold of the " Urbs Intacta's" Democracy; from "St. Mary's 
Island," and " Cromwell's Rock;" from the familiar crest of "Mount Misery," 
the eloud-piercing summits of the grouped Commeraghs, and the lovely, ma- 
jestic Slieve-na-mon ; from Nature in all her various forms and embellish- 
ments — sublimely savage or wildly picturesque; from a home where he was 
idolized ; from the playmates of his childhood, his school-fellows, and neighbors, 
the sturdy-limbed, fond-hearted " Tom. Meagher " found himself parting one fine 
morning, in his eleventh year. It was his first leave-taking of all he loved on 
earth, and he felt it keenly as all affectionately, impressionable natures feel such 
trials. A short time previously, he had witnessed the departure of an emigrant- 



16 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

ship from Waterford quay, and the harrowing scene left its impression on his 
susceptible heart to the last year of his life —eventful of thrilling experiences as 
that life had been. 

More than thirty years afterwards, in an address delivered before the Irish 
Immigration Society of St. Paul, Minnesota, of which the present illustrious Arch- 
bishop Ireland was President, General Meagher commenced by thus referring to 
this memory of his childhood : — 

" Ladies and gentlemen : There was one scene I witnessed in the morning of 
my boyhood which left upon my memory au impression that can never be effaced. 
That scene was the departure of an emigrant-ship from the quay of my native city 
of Waterford. It was a tranquil evening in the month of June. The broad river 
Suir flowed past the aged city with a gentle grandeur, and in the soft light of the 
declining day seemed as if it throbbed heavily in sympathy with the sorrows, the 
memories, and the hopes it was about to bear away upon its bosom to a distant 
shore. The city itself, with its eight centuries of troubled life chronicled in 
weeds and mouldering characters upon its walls, ever wearing a care-worn and 
clouded look, had, it appeared to me, a lonelier and gloomier aspect than usual, the 
hills that faced it throwing a deeper shadow over it than " Mount Misery " or 
" Cromwell's Rock " appeared to me to do at any time before. Now and then the 
stroke of a bell, beating through the dull air from some church or workshop, and 
closing solemnly the labors and vexations of the day, vocalized the scene with its 
mournful vibrations, and made it sadder still. On the deck of the ship were 
huddled hundreds of men, women and children — the sons and daughters of 
Innisfail — sorrow-stricken, and yet hopeful and heroic fugitives from the island 
that gave them birth. Sorrow-stricken, for an inexorable decree, of which poverty, 
injustice, the tyrannies of an agrarian absolutism were the ministers, compelled 
them to surrender the laud of their love and pride, the hallowed earth in which 
their fathers and other dear ones slept with the silent angels of the grave, 
the ruined nation to which their treasured traditions, their immemorial songs, their 
inherited wrongs and miseries, their darkest memories of persecution, lost battles 
for freedom, and the martyrdom of their chiefs, with an intense devotion bound 
them. 

" Hopeful, though sorrow-stricken, for the summer sun, burning in its varied 
splendor on the western horizon, had often told them that the glory, departing 
from them, was lighting up, away beyond those wastes of intervening ocean, a 
land of promise, in which, under the government of a free and all-powerful people, 
their broken fortunes would be repaired, and the happiness and honor, the protec- 
tion, encouragement and liberty denied them at home, would, to the fullest measure 
of their industry, be secured them for life. Heroic, as well as hopeful, were those 
wounded hearts, for the strong resolve to conquer, in a new field, the dark fate that 



PARENTAGE AND BIB Til — EARLY BO YIIO OD. 1 7 

overwhelmed them in the old, had the mastery of the hour, and the tears that would 
otherwise have been black as the rain of the blackest winter night, sparkled 
with the thoughts and visions which the assurances of victory in America inspired. 

" Young as I was, I deeply shared in the prevailing mournfulness of the scene ; 
for, young as I was, I had heard enough of the cruelty that had, for years and 
years, been done to Ireland, to know that her people were leaving her, not from 
•choice, but from compulsion ; that it was not the sterility of the soil, or any other 
unfavorable dispensation of nature, but the malignant hostility of laws and 
practices, devised and enforced for the political subjugation of the country, which 
compelled them to leave." 

The foregoing extract suffices to show, that, before the narrator ever left his 
paternal home, the foundation of his patriotic education had been deeply laid, and, 
also, that the lessons then learned were sacredly treasured by a loving heart and 
most retentive memory. 

CLONGOWES. 

The new home in which Meagher was destined to abide for the ensuing six 
years, was the Jesuit's College of Clongowes-Wood, situated on the fertile plain of 
Kildare. 

Before he reached it, his natually buoyant spirits had recovered their wonted 
elasticity. The variety of scenery through which he passed interested him, — for 
even then he had an eye keenly observant of the beauties of Nature, and when he 
at length arrived at his destination and longed for a rest, his wish was gratified in 
the contemplation of a landscape soothing in its tendency, serenely placid, rich, 
inert, contented-looking and dreamy. 

In after years, he described the place as it then impressed him, and gave some 
interesting incidents of its history previous to its occupation by the Jesuits. The 
college-building he described as follows : — 

"There it was — a solid square of grand dimensions finished off with light 
angular towers on the west front, and with great round towers on the east, 
standing out boldly from the beautiful woods which form a lofty rampart 
round it. 

" Architecturally considered, it is a curious compound. There are Gothic win- 
dows over the main door-way, and Norman towers to the right and left of that. 
The front, looking out on the play-ground and the Dublin mountains, is illuminated 
with windows of the Elizabethan era, and connects the round towers we have men- 
tioned. What era or order of architecture they belong to, it would be perplexing 
to determine. 

" In this massive square of masonry, the private rooms of the Jesuits, their 
refectory, library, chapel, and the museum are situated, — some sleep in the towers. 



18 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMA S FRANCIS ME A GSER. 

The F " -Provincial, for instance, occupies during his visits to the college, a 
large cnamber in the square tower, on the right of the principal entrance. Prom 
the spacious window of this chamber, he looks down the full length of the noble 
avenue of beech-trees, nearly half a mile in length, which in former days served as 
a highway to the castle. For " Castle-Browne " it was called more than a century 
ago, when it was little thought the disciples of Loyola would be one day lords of 
the domain. 

"In the Cromwellian days it belonged to a family of the name of Eustace. 
Curry, in his " History of the Wars in Ireland," makes sad mention of the ancient 
place. He tells us : — 

" ' The soldiers of Clongowe's-Wood and Rathcoffy, yeilding upon quarter, 
were conveyed to Dublin, and hanged there, and upwards of 150 women and chil- 
dren were found in the said place murdered. It is well known that the commons 
of that country, were, for the most part destroyed and slaughtered by the 
English, in so much that there was not so many left living as could gather 
the twentieth part of the harvest.' 

("T was the " Mature of the Beast." To-day has its Cromwells too). 

"From the Eustaces it dropped into the possession of the Brownes, from whom 
it derived, and for many years held, the name of ' Castle-Browne ! ' Wogan 
Browne, the proprietor of the estate at the time, was implicated in the insurrection 
of 1798. Irish gentlemen of high fortune and social rank thought it no discredit 
then to be found in the rebel camp, entrenched and staked against the power 
of England. Xot far from Wogan Browne, in his stately mansion of Rathcoffy, 
buried deep in the midst of the noblest old trees that ever made music with 
the wind, Hamilton Rowan lived, whose chivalrous love of Ireland would 
have made his name memorable, had not the eloquence of Cm-ran rendered it 
immortal." 

After indulging in fancy pictures of the gay doings in the castle under 
its former occupants, he proceeds to a more sombre subject,— the last resting 
place of the revellers : — 

" A mile from the college, close to the Maynooth road, the spare, melancholy, 
spectral trees of Mauhieni church-yard rise up. They are clearly visible from the 
college. In regular lines, a few feet apart, they stand upon a rising ground of the 
blackest mold, and the rankest grass of the darkest green. The red sun of August, 
going down behind them, looks like a huge furnace, of which they are the 
iron grating. The ruins of the little church, the name and history of which 
has been buried in the dense ivy which impenetrably veils its very stones, lie 
behind those gaunt dismal trees, covered up forever like the other dead around 
them. In a small chapel, not much larger than a family vault, close to these ruins, 
the ancient owners of the castle, the Eustaces and Brownes, sleep in their narrow 



CLONGOWES.— OLD SCENES AND REGBETS. 



beds of oak. The door-way was long ago walled up, but through the narrow 
openings in the walls we can, by squeezing hard, catch a dim glimpse of the huge 
slab, with its four huge iron rings, under which the coffins of the old masters of 
the place rest." 

Meagher's student life in Clongowes is thus described by his compatriot and 
friend, John Savage : — 

" Here his frank and happy nature endeared him to his associates. He was 
distinguished for the heartiness with which he joined in all the freaks of 
student life, and the sudden impulses of study that enabled him to carry off 
the honors from those who had paled their brows in months of laborious scrutiny. 
Hi? mind was quick as gay, and retentive as playful. In English composition and 
rhetoric he was above all competitors, and already became remarkable for that 
elegant enthusiasm which afterwards, in so short a space of time, placed his name 
on the list of the recognized orators who have contributed so largely to make the 
history and literature of his country." 

As might be expected, Meagher was the most brilliant member of the College 
Debating Society during his stay at Clongowes ; and soon after he left it for the 
English College of Stonyhurst, he wrote a history of the " Clongowes Debating 
Society," for which he received the thanks of the members in a series of formal 
resolutions. Subsequently, on the occasion of one of O'Connell's visits to Clon- 
gowes, the work was presented to him — when he made the memorable remark : — 
" The genius that could produce such a work is not destined to remain long in 
obscurity." 

This was high praise from such a man, when applied to a youth of only little 
more than sixteen years. 



CHAPTER IV. 

MORE ABOUT CLONGOWES. — OLD SCENES AND REGRETS. 

" But it was still a deeper joy to set before my soul 
The names that burn the brightest on my land's historic scroll,— 
To feel what e'er in life or death was beautiful and grand, 
Ordained me to the ministry of struggling for that land!" 

John Fkazer 

Nothing in the sad story of Ireland's sorrowful record is so humiliating to her 
patriot children as the reflection that, in the efforts of her hereditary oppressors to 
denationalize her people by sedulously keeping them in ignorance of her history. 



MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



language, and literature, and stifling their natural aspirations at the fountain 
head, they found their most effective agents — not in their penal enactments and 
the army of spies, informers, and cut-throat stipendiaries engaged in enforcing 
them, but among the people themselves — the mind-blinded slaves who gratui- 
tously volunteered to do the enemy's hellish work by perpetuating their own 
blindness in their offspring, and those entrusted to their teaching. It may seem 
incredible to the present generation of Irishmen when told that their fathers 
were cruelly punished at school for speaking their native language — the only 
language they ever heard uttered at home, — and this, not only with the free 
consent, but by the demand of their Irish-speaking, slavish-souled parents. 
Yet there are many still living who can corroborate the humiliating story 
from their own experiences. 

" What ! " I fancy I hear a free-born Irish- American boy exclaim, " Were these 
the Irish schoolmasters for whose heads their English tyrants offered the same 
bounty as they gave for those of wolves? " 

"No! my boy! they were their degenerate successors — the 'Hedge-school 
Pedagogues ' who flourished after the ' Penal Laws ' were abolished — the inter- 
mediaries between the outlawed professors of Celtic learning whose academies 
were hidden in the recesses of the hills and glens, and the (miscalled) ' Na- 
tional '-school-teachers of to-day, — who, as a class, are not active antagonists 
of nationality — far from it, but are, per force, compelled to ignore it in their 
schools, in accordance with the system so carefully prepared by their pay-masters, 
and from which they dare not deviate if they value their means of subsistence."' 

But, it is not alone those ignorant instructors of the past generation, or 
the well-trained human machines of the present day that are amenable to the 
charge of aiding and abetting the foreign government in keeping the Irish people 
— so far as in them lies the power — in ignorance of their country's history, 
language and literature. That they have had powerful auxiliaries in quarters 
which should be least suspected of such leanings, the following narrative of 
Meagher's personal experiences in Clongowes will attest. The possibility of such 
a system finding favor in such a quarter is repugnant to all our pre-conceived ideas 
of that enlightened, persecuted, and villirled fraternity ; but, as the Peasant-Poet 
says : — 

"Facts are chiels that winna' ding, 
An' downa' be disputed." 

And if it were only to show the difficulties which Meagher's thoroughly Irish 
nature surmounted, and that it was not through his college education but, I 
may say, in spite, of it, that he developed into the most brilliant exponent of 
Irish Nationality in his generation, it is fitting that the truth should be told. 
I give it in his own words. May they serve as an incentive to a better 



OLONGOWES — OLD SCENES AND REGRETS. 



system for the guidance of all interested in their subject. They certainly 
will leave their impress on the mind of the Celtic reader. 

"The dear old college stood very nearly in the centre of a circle of 
ancient towns. There was Clane, something like two /miles off; Kilcock,. 
between five and six; Celbridge, pretty much the same; Naas, not a perch 
further; Prosperous, within four; Maynooth, in the opposite quarter, about 
the same distance. Very old and ragged, with very little life stirring in 
them, they seemed to have gone to sleep many years ago, and to have at 
last waked up, half-suffocated, shivering and robbed of the best of their 
clothes. In the brightest day of summer they impressed me with this notion. 
In the drenching black rain of December, their miserable appearance chilled 
the blood of the fattest stranger who chanced to pass through them, and to 
the imaginative mind suggested the ruins of Baalbec. In short, there was 
not a decent town in Kildare. nor on the Kildaie borders of Dublin. 

" Clane was one street. The street numbered a hundred houses, more 
or less. Every second one was a shebeen* or tavern, dedicated, as the sign- 
board intimated, to the entertainment of Man and Beast. There was a police- 
barrack, of course, with a policeman perpetually chewing a straw outside on 
the door-step, rubbing his shoulder against the whitewash of the door-post, 
and winking and snitting all the day long. There was a Protestant church, 
— and that, too, of course, right oppposite the police-barrack — with its gaunt 
angular dimensions, fat tower in front, sheet-iron spire, and gilt weather-cock 
on top. 

"There was a low-sized, most modest, low-roofed little Catholic chapel, 
back from the street a few yards, with a convent, sheltering three Sisters 
of Mercy, ou the right-hand side coming down from Dublin, and on towards 
the south." 

" At the southern end of the street, a quarter of a mile from where 
the houses dropped off, the beautiful brown Liffey, deepening into gurgling 
pools, spreading thinly and sparklingly over beds of sand and pebbles, threw 
itself under the arches of the quaiutest, queerest, crookedest, most broken- 
backed bridge, that ever flung shadows on the flashing path of the speckled 
trout and red salmon, rushing away, with many a round of caprice and tur- 
moil, through green rushes, sand-banks alive with martins, sedges rustling 
with otters, into the copper-hued darkness of Irishtown wood. 

" Oh ! what a river is that exquisite wild Liffey ! How it tumbles ; glides 
away; buries itself darkly in pools of fabulous depth; leaps over rocks; 
deepens, as it were, thoughtfully, under ruins and raths; plunges down into 
valleys; ripples and whispers under willows, the close leaves of the straw- 
berry, and the purple-ivied basements of church-tower, country-mansion and 



22 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRA NCIS 3IEA G HER. 

castle; running the wildest, most ruinous, and grandest frolic imaginal > 
until it frowns and grows sulky a little above King's Bridge, Of Dufcl.i 
and in a turbid thick stream washes the granite walls of the quays, ovt 
which the Four Courts and Custom House rear their stately porticoes and 
domes. 

"In a yellowish, dry, worm-eaten manuscript, in the Arundelian Library 
of Stonyhurst, I glanced one day on a passage glowingly eulogistic of Clane.* 
The manuscript contains an account of the Synods held at different periods, 
in Ireland. This poor dribbling village of Clane was the favored scene of 
one of them, six hundred years back; and, apropos to it, the chronicler, who- 
ever he was, styled it hortus angelorum — the ' Garden of Angels.' It is 
now a paradise in ruins. The broken walls of an abbey, matted with ivy, 
shadowing a confused crowd of tomb-stones and tablets, the inscriptions of 
which no casual eye can decipher, alone remain to bear out the panegyric 
put on parchment recording its saintliness and glory. 

" One tomb especially, within those broken grey walls ever attracted me, 
bringing me close to it, and urging me with a silent impulse back into the 
dim paths of the past. It was that of a Crusader. So I thought. So every- 
one who visited it thought. So the whole neighborhood for miles around, 
and for generations, decided. Within the last week, I have been looki g 
over one of the beautiful Tracts of the Celtic Union, entitled "The Trac 3 
of the Crusaders in Ireland," and whilst I find in its bright pages vestiges 
of this chivalrous Knighthood near Clonegall, in Carlow, and on the Mourne, 
three miles south of Mallow, and at Toomavara, near the ruins of Knock- 
bane, and in the parish of Temple-Michael in the barony of Cushmore and 
Cushbride, and at Ballyhack, close to the estuary of the Suir, I am cast 
adrift from Clane, where the chain-clothed legs and turtle-breasted body of 



* Clane, the original Irish name of which was Cluain Damh: 1. e. "Plain of the 
Ox," is a place of great antiquity. The great St. Ailba, of Emly, had a cell or her- 
mitage there towards the close of the fifth century, which cell, on leaving, about the year 
600, A. D., he presented to St. Sinell, who died in 549, and who, it is said, founded the 
Monastery of Clane. 

The Synod referred to in the text was held in 1162. It was attended by twenty-six 
bishops Mnd nany abbots, and was presided over by Gilla-Mac'.iag, Comharba of St. Patrick 
and Primate of Ireland, whose name has been Latinized Gelasius. He presided over the 
prlroatil see from 1145 to 1173, duiing which time he occupies a distinguished place in 
the history of the Irish church. 

Amongst other decrees passed at the Synod of Clane, it was enacted that no i ersou 
Should be a professor of theology in any church in Ireland who had not been an alumnus 
or student of the University of Armagh. 



CLONGOWS.— OLD SCENES AND REGRETS. 2.T 

a Templar burst out, as if with an incompressible leprosy, from the dock- 
weeds, the nettles, the rank grass, the daffodils, the nightshade, and the 
blackerry bushes with which it is hemmed in, overshadowed, and most 
dismally margined. 

" That's the fault I find with Clongowes. They talked to us about Mount 
Olympus and the Vale of Tempe; they birched us into a flippant acquaint- 
ance with the disreputable Gods and Godesses of the golden and heroic ages; 
they entangled us in Euclid; turned our brains with the terrestrial globe; 
chilled our blood in dizzy excursions through the Milky Way; paralyzed our 
Lilliputian loins with the shaggy spoils of Hercules; bewildered us with the 
Battle of the Frogs and Mice; pitched us precipitately into England, amongst 
the impetuous Normans and stupid Saxons; gave us a look through an inter- 
minable telescope, at what was doing in the New World; but, as far as 
Ireland was concerned, they left us like blind and crippled children, in the 
dark. 

"They never spoke of Ireland. Never gave us, even what is left of it, 
her history to read. Never quickened the young bright life they controlled, 
into lofty conceptions and prayers by a reference to the martyrdoms, the 
wrongs, the soldiership, the statesmanship, the magnificent memories, and 
illuminating hopes of the poor old land. 

" All this was then to me a cloud. Now I look back to it, shake my 
hand against it, and say it was a curse. 

"The fact I have stated. The reason of it — at least what appears to 
me to be the reason of it — I may, in a little time, explain. 

" What true scholars and patriots they might have made, those old Jesuits 
of Clongowes, had they taken their pupils to the battle-fields of William 
Aylmer's army — skirting the Bog of Allen — or to the Geraldine ruins of 
Maynooth, or the grave of Wolfe Tone in Bodenstown churchyard, or to the 
town of Prosperous, where Dr. Esmond buried the Bed Cross under the hot 
ashes of his insurgent torch, or to the woods and mansion of Bath-Coffey, where 
Hamilton Bowan once lived — where the bay of his famous blood-hounds still 
echoed in my time, and where an old man — lean, shrivelled, skinny, with 
wiry, thin locks — still mumbled and shuffled along the decayed avenue, show- 
ing the worn pike, at the end of his staff, which he had charged with 
against the North Cork in Maynooth; what true scholars and patriots, Irish- 
men in nerve and soul, might they have made us, had they taken us to 
these sites, instead of keeping us within the pillars of the Parthenon, or 
the forum and shambles of the Tiber. 

" I write this, not that they kept us aloof from these places of national 
interest; not that they actually imprisoned us within the routine range of the 



24 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

classics, and shut the gates on us, as if there were no chastity or illumi- 
nation without; but that we wandered with them, day after day, miles upon 
miles, over these fields and localities, without a finger to mark them on our 
memories, or a syllable to mingle them with our joyousness, our poetry, and 
rhetoric. Ireland was the last nation we were taught to think of, to respect, 
to love and remember. 

"It is an odd fiction which represents the Irish Jesuits as conspirators 
against the stability of the English empire in Ireland. "With two or three 
exceptions they were not O'Conuellites even. In that beautiful, grand, castle 
of theirs, circled by their fruitful gardens and grain-fields, walled in by their 
stately dense woods of beech-trees, walnut, and firs, they lived and taught — 
so it seems to me now — rather as hostages and aliens than freemen and 
citizens. 

"But, I can't bear to say anything against Clongowes. It is to me a 
dear old spot. Long may that old tree, on which I've carved my name, put 
forth its fragrant blossoms, multiply its fruit, lift its aged head to Heaven, 
and receive thereon the dews which fertilize, and the golden beams that 
propagate." 



CHAPTER V. 

MEAGHER AND SHIEL.— AN OLD BOOK'S INFLUENCE. — OLD 
CATHOLIC LEADERS. 

Meagher's speeches during his first year of public life, have been com- 
pared to those of Shiel, the silver-tongued orator of the Catholic Association. 
There is no doubt but that, in brilliancy of style, passionate energy, enno- 
bling sentiment, and scornful defiance of tyranny, there is a close resemblance 
observable between the lyrical phillipics of those typical orators of their 
respective eras. Palpable as this resemblance may seem to the readers of their 
speeches, it is not surprising. Both were natural orators, with sensitive hearts 
and impetuous temperaments, and, the mind of the younger was, in a certain 
degree, influenced by the study of the other's masterpieces which so vividly 
gave expression to his own kindred thoughts and feelings. 

Had Shiel remailieil faithful as Meagher to the patriotic principles which 



MEAGHER AND SHJEL.— OLD CATHOLIC LEADERS. 25 



inspired the genius of his manhood in its prime, his efforts in the cause of 
Freedom would share, with those of the latter, the admiration of succeeding 
generations of his countrymen. As it is, the inconsistency of his political 
course in after life, by weakening their faith in the sincerity of his patriot- 
ism and his actuating motives in his early career, detracts, in a great measure, 
from the estimation which his cotemporaries accorded to his soul-stirring 
efforts in the national cause. 

Let his countrymen give him credit for the services he rendered his land 
in her struggles for civil and religious liberty, — even though he did not 
fulfil all their expectations, and persevere to the end in a career of self- 
sacrificing antagonism to their wily foe. Men not possessed of one-tenth of 
his genius, who never rendered their country one-tenth of his services, have, 
since his time, fallen out of the national ranks — though "enlisted for the 
war," and their lack of stamina has been condoned or unnoticed, save where 
their desertion was supplemented by treachery. 

Shiel was never amenable to such a charge. For the rest: — " Let him 
who is without sin cast the first stone ! " 

Shiel's influence on Meagher, as a student, can be learned from the fol- 
lowing reminiscence of the latter's collegiate career. 

"In the library at Clongowes — the one devoted to the boys — there was 
a copy of Shiel's and O'Connell's speeches. It was a shabby-looking old book. 
Miserable paper, print, and binding. The leaves all torn and defaced with 
pencil-marks. The stitching exposed. The title-page depending on a shred 
for its connection with the preface. 

" Beggarly as it looked, it was to me beyond all price. It was my favorite 
book. I loved it. All the more so because it was in rags. The very .plea- 
santest hours I had in that old college of Clongowes, I spent with this 
indigent volume. A rickety casket, full of bruises, and threatening every 
minute to fall to pieces, it contained for me a heap of the rarest emeralds, 
the lustre of whicb, even in the hardest frost, made my eyes melt and 
water. 

"Had I it in my power now, it should have a superb book-case for its 
own special use and benefit. A book-case of the soundest bog-oak — twelve 
feet high — fashioned like the 'Round Tower of Clonmacnoise,' the most 
beautiful of them all. I should dress it up sumptuously in green velvet, 
and give it an inner vest of white watered silk, and stiften its aged back 
with bars of gold. 

" In the round tower of bog-oak it should with impunity repose for ever, 
safe from all prying eyes, and the profane pencils of reckless annotators. 
All this it would well deserve, for the hours of ecstacy of which it was 
the exhaustless source. 



26 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

"The principal speeches of O'Connell and Shiel, delivered during the days 
of the great Catholic Association from 1825 to 1829, were to be found in 
its disordered pages. The first inserted was one pronounced by O'Connell, 
in the summer of 1827, in the great chapel in the city of Waterford. In 
this speech he gives a richly humorous description of a parson of the Estab- 
lished Church. 

"In this speech I also found that beautiful passage: — 'I look at home, 
and I am not disheartened. I look abroad, and my spirit is exalted. From 
the coast of Labrador to where Cape Horn beholds two oceans commingle, 
Liberty is everywhere extending her dominion. Her voice comes to us across 
the Atlantic, is heard above the storm, and, like summer music in the hea- 
vens, gladdens the ear of seven millions of Irishmen.' 

"And it was in this speech that he spoke of the example which America 
would be to the young generation springing up about him. 

"There were not more than a dozen of ShieFs speeches in the volume. 
All of them brilliant and exciting to excess, drove the blood burning through 
my veins, and filled my mind, as by a violent enchantment, with the visions 
which were the inspiration of whatever strong words fell from me in later 
years." 

Meagher first saw Shiel — and heard him deliver a speech — on what was 
to him a familiar theme — at the great aggregate meeting of Catholics con- 
vened in Dublin, in January, 1844, to protest against the exclusion of Catholics 
from the jury empanelled to try O'Connell and his associate Repealers. The 
two met personally, for the first time, in July, 1845, at the table of the 
Rev. John Sheehan,* Parish Priest of St. Patrick's, Waterford. 

On that occasion Shiel informed Meagher, that, for some years after 
Queen Victoria's accession to the throne, she entertained a strong repugnance 
to his being invited to share in the government patronage. She peremptorily 
refused to assent to his appointment to the position of Judge Advocate, 
though Lord Melbourne and other members of the cabinet earnestly urged 



•Father John Sheehan was, at that time, one of the most celebrated priests In the 
diocese of Waterford. Beloved and reveied by his own flock, no clergyman of any denom- 
ination was more esteemed by his fellow citizens at large. A profound scholar and 
accomplished gentleman; a pious, energetic and devoted pastor, and a steadfast and uncom- 
promising advocate of Irish Independence, he pursued his consistent career to the end of 
his life's journey, never, through considerations of expediency, deviating from his chosen 
path. 

He died oa the 18th of February, 1854, in the 65th year of his age, and 42d of hla 
sacred ministry. He is buried in the chapel in which he officiated as pastor for 25 years. 
A white maible tablet in the wall above his grave commemorates his virtues, and bears 
testimony to the veneiatlon of his friends of all creeds and classes. 



MEAGHER AND SHIEL.— OLD CATHOLIC LEADERS. 27 

it. The cause of Victoria's antipathy to the "Emancipation Orator" lay in 
his scathing denunciations of her bigoted uncle — the Duke of York. Her 
predecesser, William IV., bitterly hated Shiel to the hour of his death — for 
the same family reason. 

If Shiel had no stronger claim3 on the affections of his countrymen — 
they might well — 

"Love him — for the enemies he had made." 

In Meagher's graphic pen-portraits of the old-time Catholic celebrities who, 
with Shiel, attended the before-mentioned Dublin meeting — I find two thus 
delineated : — ' 

"There was Mr. Wyse, the historian of the struggle, as he had been 
one of the most accomplished actors in the movement, which eventuated in 
the emancipation of the Catholics. At present British minister at Athens, he 
resides in a city where the very stones must be dear to him, and where 
every breeze that ripples the ^Egean must wake his congenial mind, already 
so impressed with the spirit of the past, into harmonies of subdued rapture 
and delight. 

"There, also, was Sir Thomas Esmonde, one of the oldest, if not the 
oldest Baronet in Ireland. A plain, good-natured, conscientious country-gen- 
tleman, who, if able to say little, brought with his ancient Baronetcy no 
Blight social weight to the meetings and petitions of his Catholic comrades, 
and, being independent in fortune, was above contempt, suspicion or intrigue. 

" He was a patriot, however, with considerable reservations. He was a 
patriot in the wake of the Whigs, and though occasionally showing a little 
independent flag of his own — a pocket-handkerchief of home manufacture, 
with a spunky sentiment barely legible in one corner of it — never had the 
pluck or the good sense to get out of the track which their passage through 
politics ambiguously left. Nevertheless he was an excellent man, and a 
chivalrous Catholic." 



CHAPTER VI. 

IN STONYHURST. — ERADICATION OF THE IRISH BROGUE. 

After spending six years in Clongowes, Meagher was sent to finish his 
education at Stonyhurst College, in England. He thus describes the place as 
seen on his first arrival thereat: — 



2S MEMOIES OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

"Two towers topped with eagles rise up out of a deep valley. It is a 
deep, black valley. Yet there are streams rippling through that valley, and 
there are old trees iu dense masses, stretching their wrinkled arms all through 
it, and sheltering betimes among their fallen leaves and branches the most 
delicious game, pheasants, deer, and wood-cock; and there are high hills, once 
the haunt of witches, girdling it in gaunt and desolate sterility." 

For four years our young countryman pursued his studies in his new 
alma mater; during all which time the principal effort of one, at least, 
among his conscientious instructors, seems to have been devoted to the eradi- 
cation of his "detested Irish brogue," and the replacing thereof with the 
orthodox English accent. How he eventually succeeded, those who were 
familiar in after years with his pupil's peculiarly foreign mode of expression, 
(which many mistook for affectation,) can testify. Strange to say, Meagher 
himself, never could believe in the success of his pro-English pedagogue. 
That his mellifluous Minister accent came forth from the ordeal unscathed 
and triumphant was his confidant opinion, — as the following amusing account 
of one episode in the idiomatic war will illustrate. It is to be found in one 
of his "Personal Recollections,"' — entitled: — 

"CHRISTMAS WITH THE JESUITS. — THEATRICALS AT 
STONYHURST. 

" Theatricals formed a conspicuous part of the collegiate course conducted 
by the Jesuits. They were looked for as confidently as a lesson in arith- 
metic, or a lecture in hydraulics. Christmas would have been no Christmas 
without them. 

"Had they been dropped the boys would not have stood their omission. 
In that case there would have been a mutiny. Barricades of desks and 
stools — bedsteads, pillows, and crocker y-ware — thrown up in every direction, 
the discipline of the college would have been suspended. Suspended is a 
meek word. It would have been utterly upset. Stouyhurst would never have 
gone on without its annual farce, comedy, melo-drama, or tragedy. 

"The theatre was liberal in its proportions, coloring, and gilding. There 
was an amphitheatre in front — benches in a semi-circle rising one above the 
other, to the height of thirty feet — and a space of twelve feet between the 
lower bench and platform. The foot-lights studded the margin of a platform, 
two feet and a half above the level of the floor of the amphitheatre. The 
stage, gradually ascending, stretched away back for forty feet, leaving behind 
the back and side scenes, the amplest room for hordes of brigand*, shoals 
•of chorus-singers, and crowds of citizens and soldiers. Attached to the theatre 



STOXYHURST.— THE IRISH BROGUE 



-was an oppulent wardrobe. The armory was well supplied, too. The scenery 
was boldly and brilliantly painted. The machinery was sumptuous. 

"There was a large expanse of sheet-iron for thunder. It hung like a 
rusty tray (with ropes through the handles,) from the square uprights sup- 
porting the furthermost scene on the rollers. A long deal box (one would 
think it coffined a salmon-rod,) contained swan-shot, which, swung about to 
and fro" in its case, rattled and gurgled like rain. There were tin tubes 
for blowing rosin against the blaze of a mold-candle. This operation produced 
lightning. It was simple but splendid. In King Lear I became acqainted 
with this secret. 

" I was in the school of Rhetoric. The Rev. William Johnson was my 
master. Very gentle, very kind, with the softest whisper for a voice, with 
an awkward actior. of the arms from the shoulders down, irresolute legs, 
and a cumbersome preponderance of ears and tongue, his excellencies and de- 
fects equally divided the notice of his pupils. They loved him, and they 
laughed at him. His shirt-collar was enough to destroy an Adonis. The 
boys he had charge of fired squibs at him. Had there been a necessity — 
the faintest threatening of danger to him — they'd have flung themselves be- 
fore him, and died for him. Born and bied in Lancashire — an Englishman to 
the marrow — fearful somewhat of O'Connell though c instantly reciting Tommy 
Moore — he couldn't bear the Irish brogue. It was to him a sickening vul- 
garism. His handkerchief (it was never without holes and blotches,) covered 
his mouth and roseate nostrils, whenever a ' bekase ' or an ' arrah ' exploded 
within range of his hearing. These, to be sure, are barbarous words. Many 
and many an Iri«h ear would be hurt with them. But the sweetest words 
— Athenian or Arcadian — a stanza from Anacreon, or a verse from the Can- 
ticle of Solomon — uttered with an Irish accent — uttered with the rich roll 
of the Milesian tongue — was enough, and more than enough, to give hysterics 
or nausea to the Rev. William Johnson, Professor of Rhetoric. 

" ' Meagher,' he used to say, coughing into his handkerchief, and looking 
as if the interposition ot a basin would sooth him, 'that's a horrible' brogue 
you have got.' 

14 He would try me, however. He had the management of the tragedy. 
The Professor of Poetry — the Rev. Mr. Clough — had the comedy and farce. 
King Lear was the great piece of the season. 

"The part assigned me was that of the Earl of Kent. The night of 
the full rehearsal, (a week before Christmas,) I had hardly uttered these 
words : — 

' Fare thee well, King; since thus thou wilt appear, 
Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here' — 



30 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

before the manager, the Rev. Mr. Johnson, striking me on the back of the 
head with the large manuscript copy of the play, cried out in a fit of disgust — 

" "T will never do, Meagher, — that frightful brogue of yours well never 
do for Shakspeare.' 

" Nevertheless, with the sweetest composure I continued the speech, the 
entire court laughing — King Lear himself, forgetful of his gray hairs, knit- 
ting his eyebrows and pinching his wrinkled nose to keep down his merriment 
— whilst the enraged manager endeavored to drown my beautiful brogue with 
exclamations of horror. 

'Thus Kent, O princes, bids you all adieu; 
He'll shape his old course to a country new.' 

" With these words on my lips, bowing gracefully and mournfully to the 
nobility, I retired to the sofa on which the Knight was shortly to stretch 
himself. Up hurries the manager, shakes the manuscript at me, and growing 
Tery red in the face says : — 

" ' Meagher, 't will never do — I must degrade you from the Peerage — 
I'll give Clifford your part. You'll have to be a common soldier; you'll have 
to bring in the stocks for Kent, carry a brown-bill in the battle scenes, make 
thunder and rain in the tempest, and turn the wind.' 

"That night I had to give up my hose, my scarlet velvet hat and fea- 
thers, my silk cloak and sandals, my sword and jacket — everything that 
pertained to my Earldom. Clifford received them from me; and in exchange 
I received from him a tin helmet, a breast-plate of leather, a pair of bus- 
kins, and a battle-axe and spear. It wasn't the first time the brogue entailed 
the forfeiture of title and estate. I felt I was a martyr to the peculiarities 
of my race. The sandwiches and negus consoled me. The common soldier 
had as much of boih as the Earl. Besides, I had my revenge. I fastened 
my successor so tight in the stocks the first night of the public perform- 
ance, that he had to be carried off trie stage (stocks and all,) before his 
legs could be freed. In the battle on Dover Cliffs, I used the battle-axe 
and spear with impetuous strength. I cut a rock in two — wounded Lear in 
the thigh — upset Cordelia, and hotly pursuing the Fool, who had no business 
there at all, tumbled against the manager, who tumbled against a drummer, 
who, in his turn tumbled over ' Mad Tom.' 

" During the storm on the Heath, my revenge was magnificent. Not in 
vain did Lear, with his hoarse, wild voice, cry out: — 

'Blow winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow! 
You cataracts, and hurricanes, spout!' 

11 With the frenzy of a fiend, I rattled the thunder, shook the rain-box. 



STONYEUBST.— THE IBISH BROGUE. 31 

twirled the handle of the wind-mill. The lightning I made was terrific. It 
kept the Heath in a blaze. To no purpose did the Rev. William Johnson 
call 'Silence — stop that lightning.' I answered him with a stunning peal or 
a blinding flash. In vain did he beseech the winds to abate their fury. 
Hurricanes followed quick upon his prayers for peace. Lear threatened to 
kick me (the moment he got off the stage,) for keeping up a deafening 
whirlwind during his prophesy about heretics and tailors, brewers and cut- 
purses. The physician, (he was one of the Cliftons of Yorkshire,) threw 
some camp furniture at me. The manager, even above the wind and thun- 
der, was heard to exclaim: — 'You'll be flogged for this, Meagher — I'll make 
Rome howl.' 

"In the fourth scene of the fourth act, where I had to enter as a Mes- 
senger, I ran away with Quigley's (the Fool's) cap, and with this on my 
head, and a sandwich in the same hand with the battle-axe, walked in mag- 
nificently, saluted Cordelia, and, with the most powerful brogue I could 
muster, announced that — 

" The British powers were marching thitherward." 

" The audience received the announcement with an enthusiastic cheer, 
insisting vociferously on my repeating the message. 

"The Irish brogue triumphed. It drew down the house in a tremendour 
encore." 

The "Irish brogue" may have triumphed on that occasion, but as "con- 
stant dropping wears a stone," the English "Professor of Rhetoric" eventually 
succeeded in metamorphosing it so completely as to render it unrecognizable 
by Meagher's own countrymen, many of whom mistook his mincing accent for 
affectation.* But this was only in ordinary colloquy, when neither his feel- 



*An amusing Incident illustrative of this mlsconceptloa of Meagher's acquired idiom 
on the part of Ms unconventional and sensitive countrymen, was related to me by an oM 
follower of his from the Suir-slde — Mr. Maurice I'helau, now a prosperous citizen of Mount 
Sterling, 111. For a considerable time after Meagher's arrival In New York, in the summer 
of 1852, his admiring -countrymen In that city and Its vicinity, sought every available 
opportunity to see and hear him, and, if possible, obtain the honor of shaking his hand 
while giving him a "Cead mile Failte" to the "Land of the Free!" To gratify this 
natural feeling to some extent, the Illustrious exile was Induced to appear at several 
public receptions in the Metropolis of Democracy. At one of these assemblages my friend, 
Maurice and a fellow-Carrickroau attended. 

At the conclusion of Meagher's brilliant and hopeful address, Maurice observed his 
townsman making strenuous exertions to force his way through the crowd that thronged 
round the orator. He succeeded at length, in speaking to and shaking the hand of the 
■object of his admiration. But when afterwards asked by his comrade "how he enjoyed the 



32 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

Ings or passions were excited. In the tribune there was not a vestige of 
his acquired idiom observable, and but very little when he was telling one 
of his humorous stories. There he was inimitable. Every sentence bubbled 
over with the very essence of fun that had its well-spring in a nature "racy 
of the soil." His pen-pictures of Irish character make charming reading, but 
to fully appreciate the delineator's fidelity to nature, one should hear and 
see him, when, in congenial society, he gave free vent to his exuberant spirit 
in language flashing with genuine Irish wit — reflecting the merriment that 
sparkled in his soul-speaking eyes and animated every feature of his typical 
Celtic countenance. 

That was a treat to be remembered for a life-time. 



CHAPTER VII. 

"1843." 

"That was the time for a man to be young." 

John r. O'Donnell. 

The year 1843 is one of the most memorable in modern Irish history. 
Since Sarsfleld sailed for France the country was never so hopeful or so 
strong. Physically, morally, or intellectually, her people were never in a 



Interview?" he, in an abashed and somewhat irritable tone, acknowledged that he was 
disappointed at his reception. Meagher's accent and conventional manner had chilled his 
enthu-lastic nature. It was so different from what he anticipated judging from his own 
impulsive feelings. 

His interlocutor, who was a hard-headed, practical patriot, and had " shouldered a 
pike on thehilis" with that most practical of all the "Forty-eight" leaders — John O'Mahony, 
had no patience with his super sensitive townsman. He bluutly told him not to be "niakin* 
a Judy" of himself. 

"Why!" says he, "didn't Mr. Measlier shake hands with you!" 

"Oh! he did." 

"An', didn't he say he 'was glad to see you?'" 

"He <'id say so — but — 

"Ach! don't bother me with your ' buts.' What the deuce more did you want of him;. 
Or did you expect him to ask — 'How is your grandmother?'" 

I think if Meagher, himself, had heard the story he would have heartily enjoyed it. 



"1843r 33 

better position to renew their irrepressible struggle for nationality. They 
numbered nearly nine millions, and the food to sustain them was plentiful 
and cheap. During the preceding five years the heaven-inspired labors of 
Father Mathew bad banished the "demon of intemperance" from the island, 
and so prepared the way for the holding of those mighty gatherings through- 
out the country in which were exhibited the physical power and moral 
discipline which won for the people the admiration of the world, with the 
sole exception of the tyrants who profited by the slave's vices of self-de- 
basement and drink-engendered strife. 

Through Father Mathew's exertions, the fell " Spirit of Discord " was 
exorcised from the people's hearts, and peace and happiness brought into 
their homes — (only too many of which were made miserable by drink). Nor 
were the benefits resulting from his super-human labors limited to the moral 
and material improvement of his people. Intellectually, he accomplished much 
for the rising generation. The " Temperance Bands," organized under his 
auspices, made the hills of Ireland resound to the thrilling notes of our 
grand old national music; while the Temperance Reading-rooms fostered a taste 
for a healthy national literature, which the gifted and patriotic writers of 
the " Nation '" were then engaged in supplying. 

Men of the Irish race, through succeeding generations, will owe a debt 
of deep gratitude to the founders of that greatest propagandist of nation- 
ality their country has ever seen. That country never lacked patriots and 
men of genius. But it is doubtful if, at any period of her history — the 
brightest or the darkest, — she produced three men whose united efforts exerted 
such a salutary and lasting influence on the hearts and intellects of their 
race, as did the founders of the "Nation" — Duffy, Dillon, and Davis. 

It is utterly impossible for the present generation of newspaper-readers 
to comprehend the enthusiastic delight with which the appearance of the 
new journal was hailed by the people, to whom it came as a levelation of 
a new destiny for their country and race. Hungering, as they had long 
been, for healthy intellectual nourishment, they devoured its contents with 
eager avidity, and a blessing for the providers of the weekly f< ast. 

Of the gifted triumvirate, Dufty, as the editor, became, from the first 
appearance of the journal, known to, and appreciated by, the masses of his 
readers; and his actual work, in prose and poetry, well entitled him to their 
loving admiration. To-day, after a lapse of nearly half a century — finds him 
still engaged in the noble work of educating a new generation of his coun- 
trymen. During the past ten years he has contributed more to Irish historical 
literature than all his living contemporaries combined; and, in his latest and 
greatest "labor of love" — the "Life of Thomas Davis!" — he has presented 
3 



34 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

the men of his race, of all classes and creeds, with a soul-inspiring Gospel 
of Irish Nationality, from which, as from a " Holy Well " they may imbibe 
pure draughts of wisdom and love, and learn lessons of steadfast labor and 
self-reliance. 

Dillon's contributions to the "Nation" were mostly distinguished for 
calm thoughtfulness, the deep sympathy they manifested for the toilers of 
the land; the knowledge displayed regarding the primary cause of their mis- 
erable condition, (the detested land-laws,) and the radical remedies suggested 
therefor. John Dillon was. in fact, the original enunciator of those practical 
lessons of agrarian reform, which, five years later, James Fintan Lalor ex- 
pounded so forcibly and clearly, and of which, more recent laborers in the 
same cause, (unconsciously, perhaps,) think themselves entitled to the credit. 

Dillon's teachings made a deep impression on the more thoughtful of 
his readers, while the personality of the writer remained to them unknown, 
until subsequently revealed when the articles re-appeared in a volume entitled 
"The Voice of The Nation." 

The same may be said of Davis's prose contributions, glowing as they 
were with the fire of impassioned genius. But the songs of "The Celt," 
(his nom-de-plume,) lit, as with a ray from Heaven, the hearts of his people, 
young and old, and their first glance was invariably turned to the "Poet's 
Corner," to seek, over the joy-giving signature, a fresh incentive to patriotism 
or love. 

It was to this newly-awakened Ireland that, in the early summer of 
that auspicious year, Thomas Francis Meagher returned from Stonyhurst. 
He left the College with the reputation of being one of the most brilliant 
rhetoricians it ever produced. In English composition, also, he had borne off 
the palm from all competitors, so that his family and townsfolk had just 
cause for the pride which they undoubtedly felt in him, as they welcomed 
him back to his home by the Suir. 

It was at an ovation given in Waterford to Father Mathew, shortly after 
Meagher's return, that the young man gave his fellow-citizens the first public 
proof of his wonderful oratorical powers. His eulogy on the great Apostle 
of Temperance was listened to in wonder and admiration, and enthusiastically 
applauded. Thenceforth it required no prophet to tell his hearers that their 
young townsman was destined to be the coming orator of his race and 
generation. 

Unlike most young Irishmen of his position in society, Meagher did not 
have the advantage of supplementing his collegiate acquirements by Univer- 
sity training; for Trinity College, then the only university in Ireland, bore 



1843." 



the well-founded reputation of being "an institution which tempted Catholic 
students to apostacy by reserving its prizes for apostates." 

The elder Mr. Meagher was then Mayor of his native city. He had the 
distinction of being the first Catholic Mayor elected in Ireland after the 
passage of the "Municipal Reform Bill" had opened the way to an honor 
from which his hitherto proscribed co-religionists had been debarred during 
the two preceding centuries. He had attained that honor through his own 
Intrinsic merit and the esteem of his fellow citizens; and he saw no necessity 
for his gifted son being beholden for intellectual advantages to a university 
founded and supported by the spoils plundered from the National Church 
and its laithful defenders, and which was known to be a hot-bed of bigotry 
and intolerance; he preferred that the young man should enlarge his knowl- 
edge by travel and personal observation on the European Continent, before 
adopting a profession in life. 

Accordingly, after a brief sojourn at home, Meagher set out on his con- 
tinental tour, in the course of which he explored the beauties of the historic 
Rhine, and spent some agreeable weeks among the medieval cities of the 
Low Countries, to which he was specially attracted. 

Though, in after years, when among his most familiar associates, Meagher 
was occasionally induced to relate some interesting reminiscences of this, his 
first visit to the Continent, his published writings contain no record thereof. 
This is to be regretted, as his vivid imagination and wonderful power of 
description would have a splendid field for display in recording his impres- 
sions of these picturesque and historic regions, and the important events of 
which they had been the theatre. 

That those impressions were indellibly stamped on his retentive memory 
is evidenced by the expression given them in the most famous of all his 
speeches — that which obtained for him the glorious appellation of — 

"Meagher of the Sword." 

He returned from the Continent in time to celebrate his twentieth birth- 
day, a month after which he participated in the great Repeal meeting of 
Lismore, (September 24th, 1843). It was at the dinner on the evening of 
that event that he delivered his first political speech — in applauding which 
O'Connell, clapping him on the shoulder, enthusiastically exclaimed — " Well 
done Young Ireland!" 

Thus it was that the appellation originated, which, subsequently, the 
Great Agitator applied as an epithet of derision to all who differed with 



36 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

himself on their country's politics. That the country did not agree with him 
in his new interpretation of the term, events proved. 

•Tor Time at last sets all things even!" 



CHAPTER VIII. 

1844— 1845. 

CLONTARF MEETING ABANDONED. — THE STATE TRIALS. — HOME 
RECREATIONS. 

"When I had freedom — God's leave and no Queen's pardon — why did I not see more 
of Ireland? Why not have seen every rock, stream, ruin, glen, eromleac, gap, graveyard — 
her mountains — the broken gates of her old towns — the last remaining stones of her 
monasteries and castles? I waited to see the old land free, and so defrauded my youth of its 
joys, and my memory of treasures without price." 

From " Notes on the Voyage to Australia," by T. F. Meagher. 

For the two years succeeding his debut at Lismore, Thomas Francis 
Meagher refrained from active participation in politics. The muster at Lis- 
more was the last, but one, of the " Monster meetings " of 1SI3. That at 
Mullagmast, on October 1st being the last. The tide of national enthusiasm, 
whicli each succeediug one of those popular gatherings bad contributed to 
swell, attained its highest level at the latter meeting — where the "Un- 
crowned King," — to his own evident gratification and the spectators' delight, 
was formally invested with the insignia of a nation's allegiance, by the 
prince of Irish artists — Hogau. 

Never, throughout that year of popular ovations, did the Irish Leader 
appear more resolute, or his devoted followers more trustful and hopeful, 
than when ou that fated hill, commemorative of English treachery, they 
reiterated their determination to make their land " A Nation once again." 

The following week, however, witnessed an occurrence which, eventually, 
led to a change of policy in the Leader, and a corresponding vacillation in 
the spirits of the people. 

A meeting, which was intended to be the culmination of the series, was 
announced to be held at Clontarf on the 8th of October. The selection of 
the site of Ireland's greatest triumph over a foreign foe, was full of signifi- 



1S44—1S45.— TIIE STATE TRIALS. 



cance to friends and enemies of the national cause. Both parties felt that a 
crisis was at hand. From end to end of the Island the popular heart throb- 
bed expectantly, and the popular nerves were strung to their utmost tension. 
•Old men felt as they did when awaiting the pre-concerted signal for the 
"General Rising" in "98 — (the stoppage of the mail-coaches on the 23d of 
May,) — and their allusions to that spirit-stirring epoch excited a kindred 
feeling in the souls of their eager listeners — who panted for the coming 
contest, and felt no doubt of its issue. 

At last the eventful Sunday-morning arrived, and with it the " mail*, 
coaches from Dublin." They brought the (anticipated) news — that the 
Clontarf meeting was "proclaimed" by the government; but, what none was 
prepared for, they also brought the humiliating news, that O'C'onnell, — not- 
withstanding his "Mallow Defiance" — had, fo: prudential reasons, declined 
the challenge he had provoked, and, — countermanding the march to the 
Strand of Clontarf — selected, as the site of his coming battle, — the Four 
Courts of Dublin. 

This " change of front in the face of the enemy," confused the, hitherto, 
• confiding masses ; but, notwithstanding their sore disappointment, they did not 
then waver in their devotion to their old chief; on the contrary, they sup- 
ported the Repeal exchequer more generously than at any previous time, 
trusting that, when those weary 'legal contests were over, and their leader 
free to carry out the new plans sure to be evolved from his creative intel- 
lect they would, once more, be called to follow him on the direct road 'to 
the goal of his ambition — Legislative Independence. 

To relate how they were again disappointed forms no part of my present 
purpose. Suffice it to say that the policy pursued during the year succeed- 
ing the liberation of O'Connell and his fellow-prisoners was not of a nature 
to enlist the co-operation of an enthusiastic nationalist like the typical 
"Young Ieelander." 

DUBLIN DURING THE STATE TRIALS. 

Meagher spent the first months of 18-14 in Dublin, attending at the Queen's 
Inns with a view to being called to the Irish bar, and" participating in the 
gayeties and frivolities which constituted the main attractions to metropolitan 
society, but in which one of his earnest, hearty nature and exuberant spirit 
could find little genuine enjoyment. In fact, with the exception of a few 
congenial friends, he held Dublin society as he then found it, in contempt; 
for, as he afterwards expressed himself to Charles Gavan Duffy, in reference 
to the subject: — "Flaunting and fashionable as I sometimes was, I thor- 



38 MEMOIRS OF G EN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

oughly hated Dublin society for its pretentious aping of English taste, ideas, 
and fashions; for its utter want of all true nobility, all sound love of country, 
and all generous or elevating sentiment." 

He varied his pleasure-seeking monotony by occasionally attending the 
" State Trials " then wearily progressing in the Dublin Courts. Did he do 
so in the hope of listening to such displays of Irish eloquence as on former 
occasions characterized the trials of his country's champions, he was doomed 
to disappointment; for, in the dreary array of long-drawn legal platitudes 
which fell heavily on his ears there was no resemblance to the fervid, im- 
passioned pleading, the lightning flashes of genius that lit up the lurid gloom 
of stormy " Ninety-eight."' 

The dramas were essentially different, so were the actors. 

CONCILIATION HALL. — SMITH O'BRIEN. 

But although the events then transpiring in the "Four Courts" were 
watched with deep interest by all classes, not only in Ireland but throughout 
the United Kingdom, the proceedings in "Conciliation Hall,"— a few hundred 
yard3 further down the Quays — were even more attractive to the excitable 
patriots of the metropolis. 

Meagher, as a matter of course, attended the popular meetings, but only 
as a silent and interested spectator. He was present on the memorable occa- 
sion that Smith O'Brien made his first appearance in the "Hall." His 
description of the occurrence, and of the general aspect of Dublin at the 
time, is so graphically written and of such historical importance that I give 
it here uncurtailed. 

"WILLIAM SMITH O'BRIEN." 
From "Personal Recollections," by T. F. Meagheb. 

"The State trials were going on. O'Connell, branded as a conspirator, 
day after day sat in the Queen's Bench, facing the jury empanelled to 
convict him. The Attorney-General had relieved himself of his opening ad- 
dress. Two days were occupied in the work. The great meeting of Catholics, 
at which I saw Shiel for the first time, was a written chapter in history. 
The hall of the FOur Courts swarmed with lawyers, politicians, officers of 
the army, attorneys, and policemen. Dublin teemed with people of every 
description. Since George the Fourth's visit, the handsome capital of Ireland 
had not sheltered so dense and excited a crowd. The English garrison num- 
bered ten thousand men. Lord Cardigan's Hussars were stabled in the Royal 
Barracks. The Fifth Fusileers were there also. Several troops of the Royal 
Horse Artillery, with the First Dragoon Guards, occupied Portobello. Three 



1S44 — 1S45.— THE STATE TRIALS. 3a 

or four houses in Ship street had been converted into military quarters, and 
rang with ramrods and spurs from dawn to nightfall. Aldborough House 
underwent the same fate. The Beggar's Bush lodged two regiments of infantry. 
The Pigeon-House mounted additional guns. There were double sentries on 
the gates. All the Martello towers from Blackrock to Dalkey Island; from 
Dalkey Island round to Duncannon fort; then round the bay on the other 
side to the Hill of Houth; arid round that again to Malahide, and beyond 
it; were set to rights. A full complement of gunners was assigned to each 
of them, and the stores replenished. 

" Paris, during the days of the Provisional Government of February, hardly 
exhibited greater excitement, restlessness and enthusiasm. Nothing that stim- 
ulates the spirit of a people was wanting:. The theatres were enjoying the most 
allluent season. There were balls by the dozen every night, in Merrion 
and Fitzwilliam squares, and all the other sweetly-scented regions of wealth, 
aristocracy and fashion. London reporters and editors filled every hotel in 
the city. A numerous staff from the Illustrated News were quartered in the 
Imperial, in Sackville street. Repeal orators thundered day and night from 
platforms, erected in the name of some parish or municipal ward. The con- 
tributions to the Repeal treasury dashed down in golden torrents from every 
part of the country. In the pages of the Nation, Davis was appealing to 
the people in tones, the grandeur and power of which far excelled the writ- 
ings of Drennan, and were equalled only by the invocations of Grattan to 
the armed patriotism of Ireland. 

" It was at this moment that Smith O'Brien entered Conciliation Hall 
for the first time. It was the third Monday in January, 1844. The hall was 
densely thronged. Thousands were wedged in within its walls. The galleries 
curved under the huge burthen piled upon them. Blocking up the windows 
and doorways in every direction, the crowd shut out the light. They had 
to turn on the gas. It was a midnight gathering in mid-day. The indictment 
against O'Connell appeared to be borne out. For all the world, it looked 
like a convention of the blackest conspirators. 

" About one o'clock Maurice O'Connell made his appearance. Ever a 
favorite with the people, he was loudly welcomed. Old Caleb Powell, the 
junior Member for the County Limerick, came next. John O'Connell followed. 
Immediately after him came O'Brien. The moment he was recognized, from 
the floor of the huge hall, from the galleries, from every place where they 
stood or sat, the thousands assembled there that day, leaped up with the 
wildest delight. A cheer, such as one could hear only in Ireland, shook the 
Tery stones of the building. Again and again was it renewed. Again and 
again did the enormous mass seem to leap towards the ceiling; and again 



40 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

and again did it sway to and fro, a black forest bending to the storm. 
" O'Brien's keen, deep-set eye filled with a beautiful sparkling light, as, 
erect, motionless, and dignified, he looked upon the scene, and felt himseli 
the idol of a popular ovation. The truthfulness and loftiness of his charac- 
ter, qualities eminent in him from the first hour of his public life ; the patient 
industry with which for years he had drudged through Parliament, without 
any of that excitement which the championship of great popular principles 
so pleasurably kiudles; his personal bravery, established and made widely 
known by his bearing on two memorable occasions; the memories evoked 
by his name and the close neighborhood of Clontarf; the consciousness which 
every man within there felt, that such an accession was of the utmost con- 
sequence to the national cause; every consideration which could delight and 
inspire a people, flashed through those thousands as he stood there before 
them. I was sitting on one of the back benches of the Committee box at 
the time — had a full view of the scene — noticed every emotion O'Brien 
betrayed — every incident of that magnificent welcome. 

"The day he was sentenced to death in the Couit-house of Clonmel, 
and he was brought back in that hideous prison-van to the gaol, escorted 
by a body of Orange constabulary with fixed bayonets and ball-cartridge, 
and almost every man in the town shrunk back and cowered, and the women 
alone, filling the heavens with their passionate cries of grief and vengeance, 
followed him to the gates, and swore to be true to him, and not see him 
murdered; that day, as I sat with my noble young comrades in a low arched 
cell which from the top of the gaol overlooked the street, and those cries 
came to us npon the cold wind, and echoed through the dismal corridors 
and dungeons of our fortress, I could not help calling to mind the scene in 
Conciliation Hall I have mentioned, and contrast the tumultuous enthusi- 
asm with which O'Brien was then greeted with the bleak loneliness of the 
day he was sentenced to death. Did the contrast occur to himself? I never 
could bring myself to ask him. The question might have gone like a dagger 
to his heart. As it was, throughout his imprisonment and exile, he shut 
his eyes to the past, and with a noble calmness endured all that had befallen 
him. 

" Maurice O'Connell moved him to the chair. 

" ' I have come here,' he said, ' to tell the Attorney-General that, though 
not ambitious of martyrdom, if he wants another victim, I present myself 
to him.' Then having haughtily defied the Government, he spoke exultingly of 
the national spirit which was rising throughout the country. 

" ' Why are we,' he exclaimed, ' forbidden the name and rights of a 
nation? The Englishman is proud of his country. The Scotchman is proud 



1844 — 1845.— THE STATE TRIALS. 



of his country. The Frenchman thinks there is no country in the world 
like his own. The Circassian has encountered the colossal power of Russia 
in defence of his freedom. Shall Ireland be the only country in which 
nationality is forbidden?' 

"The cheers with which those manly words were received still ring in 
my ears. The reference to Circassia, up in arms on her mountains beating 
back the plunderers of Poland, sent the blood of every man present flashing 
through his veins. On that day O'Brien stood before the only national assem- 
bly which had met in Ireland since the Rotunda Convention of the Volunteers, 
the stately impersonation of the proud spirit, patriotism and chivalry of the 
country. On that day, influenced by his presenoe, his sentiments and virtues, 
the Association assumed a more determined attitude and tone. The proceedings 
grew to be more deliberate, intellectual, and dignified. A position in the 
future was asserted for Ireland, loftier than that which had heretofore invited 
the interest and called forth in rapturous anticipation the anthems and applause 
of the people. Ireland rose from her bed, and got nearer to the sun. Bring- 
ing to its service a cultivated mind, an experience of many years' growth 
in public affairs, a calm and indomitable industry, O'Brien purified the spirit 
■of the Association, initiated its governing committee into wise and fruitful 
labors, and whilst in a great measure silencing by his presence and example 
the vulgarities which had hitherto dishonored it, persuaded into public action 
those younger minds which had noiselessly watched until now the deepening 
and quickening current of national feeling. 

"That same day, McXevhi* appeared for the first time in Conciliation 



•Note — Thomas McNevin, a young ConDaught Barrister, was the most brilliant and 
popular orator In Conciliatiou Hall previous to Meagher's public appearance on its platform. 
His style was more aggressive, puugent and epigrammatic than Meagher's. In the perora- 
tion of one of his most eloquent philippics, he electrified his audience by characterizing — 

" The Flag that braved a thousand years " etc., as 
"The Felon Flag of Eugland! " 

The "Nation" of that week adopted the newly coined epithet as the caption of an 
article commencing : — 

"Wicked Mr. McNevin! Rash Mr. McNevin! what Devil put that damnable alliteration, 
that terrible sticking name, into your mind? 'Felon Flag!' How well It trips off one's 
tongue — ' Felon Flag!' How apt to use and easy to remember. Who will forgtt it? 
'Felon Flag!* Yet, somehow, you infected us with your audacity, and we felt ourselves, 
half-unconsciously, rhyming something about — 

"•The Felon Flag of England!' 

Aye, 'tis a ' Fe on Fag!'— 
As ever waved from Pirate's mast, 

Or liobbei's castled crag.'" 



42 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

Hall. The people cheered him as, in the old Catholic Association days, they 
cheered Shiel. In manner, imagery, and voice, the resemblance between the 
orator of Young Ireland and the Member for Dungarvan was striking. There 
was the same richness of diction, vivid illustration, dramatic enunciation and 
gesture. Small in figure, abrupt in his motions, somewhat shabbily dressed, 
he had many of the imperfections and drawbacks, as well as many of the 
great, gifts which enobled the author of "Evadne.*' 

" Hailing the adhesion of O'Brien to the national cause, McNevin, with 
a nervous enthusiasm quivering through every limb, and in sudden flashes 
lighting up his features, exclaimed — 

" ' He was no foreign aristocrat. No Anglo-Norman-Saxon noble. He was 
of Irish birth and Irish nobility, and they recognized in him the descendant 
of one of the best and bravest characters in Irish history.' 

"From that day out did O'Brien devote himself to the service of Ireland. 
An arduous service, the love he bore the country sweetened labors which 
were incessant, and reconciled him to the many asperities which that seivice 
inflicted. Wholly free from envy, ambitious only of the success and fame 
of the movement into which he had thrown himself, he was the first to 
encourage to great efforts the gifted minds he discerned in the crowd about 
him, and the first to applaud the triumphs which signalized those efforts. 
Gentle, most kindly and forgiving, he never permitted a syllable of resent- 
ment to detract from the dignity of his demeanor, or ruffle the exquisite 
propriety of his opinions, sympathies and language. Even when some of the 
Repeal editors sneered at his integrity in preferring the displeasure of the 
House of Commons to a deviation from a pledge he had made, and sought 
to undermine the popularity his goodness and grandeur had won, he had 
nothing for them but quiet regrets and the kindliest wishes. Even when 
these same gracious gentlemen assailed him violently after the Secession, im- 
puting to an inordinate vanity and a brainless insubordination the course 
which an equivocal policy and a rude dictation alone compelled him to take, 
no one ever heard him petulantly or vindictively complain. Even when, on 
the very eve of staking his life in the last struggle, he was hooted by 
a malignant rabble, struck treacherously in the dark in his native city, and 
ignominiously disabled, he returned to Dublin, calm though downcast — down- 



McNevln's pen was as fluent as his tongue. He contributed two volumes to the " Lib- 
rary of Ireland " — " The History of the Irish Volunteers" and "The Confiscation of 
Ulsterl" He also edited an edition of " Shiel's Speeches!" Mctfevin was passionately- 
devoted to Thomas Davis, and when that " Purist spirit of the Land," departed, he was 
Utterly prostrated by the calamitous stroke, and never recovered from the shock. 



1S44 — 1845. — THE STA TE TRIALS. 43 

cast at the thought that Irishmen were still possessed with the fanaticism 
of faction — and without uttering a word of reproach against the cowards 
who struck him, or the more cowardly conspirators who inflamed them, 
resumed his public duties, the penalties they imposed, the great perils they 
induced to, and the sacrifices they inexorably enjoined. 

"But it has long been remarked that the bravest men are among the 
most gentle. It has long been remarked, that the most resolute in purpose 
are the least ostentatious in manner, and that a consciousness of being in 
the right softens the harshest blows, and preserves a sweetness and benignity 
of temper even in those who suffer injustice for justice's sake. 

" Concluding his speech in Conciliation Hall, that day in January, 1844, 
Smith O'Brien said: — 

" ' I have come here to offer you my services. Abilities I have not. 
But I have some experience in public affairs, a patient and persevering 
industry, and a resolute Irish heart.' " 

A POETICAL TOUR. 

Though, like most young Irishmen of his class, Meagher was an ardent 
admirer of the '• Nation," he does not appear to have formed the acquaint- 
ance of any of its founders during his sojourn in Dublin at the period above 
mentioned. It is probable that of all the young natives of the Irish metrop- 
olis who subsequently became prominent in the national movement, he then 
counted but two among his intimate associates, — Patrick J. Smith, his fellow- 
student at Clongowes, and Richard O'Gorman, Jr., both of whom continued 
his most attached friends till death. 

That he did not meet Mr. Duffy until nearly two years subsequently to 
Smith O'Brien's debut in Conciliation Hall, may be learned from the follow- 
ing passage from " Young Ireland," in which the author refers to his Munster 
tour after his liberation from Richmond Prison, in September, 1S44: 

"During the journey, after a day's travel or sight-seeing, tea, seclusion, 
a volume of poetry and a talk prolonged beyond midnight, made a feast 
which had no need to envy the luxury of a chateau. But the privacy was 
hard to obtain for a state prisoner fresh from Richmond; and deputations. 
addresses, bands, and the endless good cheer of a hospitable race, drew us 
constantly back from the world of poetry and dreams. To win a few hours' 
privacy was a triumph sometimes bought too dear. In "VYaterford, the birth- 
place of Richard Shiel, whilst we were hastily visiting the historic places, 
the "■son of the Mayor" was reported at various points to be in search 
of us, but we exulted in escaping his pursuit; and only came to know 
him two years later as Thomas Francis Meagher, who will be ionger re- 



44 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS 3IEAGIIEE. 

membered in Waterford and in Ireland than the orator whose birth-place was 
an object of such interest to us that day." 

Verily, in escaping from the eager search of that young enthusiast on 
hospitable thoughts intent, the " Editor of the Nation," and his fellow-poets 
*" Desmond" and " Slievegullion ! " missed the company of the most delightful 
guide through his native county that ever expatiated on its scenic beauty or 
spirit-stirring history. For, during the previms summer months, Meagher 
had been over their contemplated route from one extremity of Southern Desi 
to the other, and could, moreover, have introduced them to many a lovely 
spot hidden in the sequestered glens through which flow the BlackwaterVs 
tributary streams, or in the recesses of the rugged, cloud-piercing Comme- 
raghs, which, necessarily escaped their observation as not coming within the 
scope of their outlined route through that picturesque district — thus set 
down in the delightful volume referred to : — 

"Along the Suir to Waterford, a land peopled with memories of every 
era of resistance to English supremacy, from the raid of Strongbo.w, and the 
invasion of Cromwell, down to the memorable election of 1826, which pre- 
cipitated Catholic Emancipation. By Cappoquin and Lismore through the 
divine valley of the Blackwater, with a detour to Mount Melleray, where 
the monks of La Trappe had established, among the barren hills a model 
and museum of skilful industry, and like Columbanus a thousand years before, 
were transforming the wilderness into corn-fields and the people into docile 
pupils/' 

In a letter to Thomas Davis, written while on that tour, Mr. Duffy says: — 

" Compared to the peasantry of Kilkenny and Waterford, who are fine, 
vigorous and masculine fellows, your compatriots in Cork are an inferior 
race. 

"At Cappoquin a young and vigorous priest, (Father Malley,f) addressed 
the people in Irish, by the light of a bonfire, and I have seldom witnessed 
a scene fitter for an Irish Wilkie to paint. We sailed down the river to 
Youghal.*' 

During his sojourn at home in Waterford in the summer and autumn of 

*The respective noms-cle-plume of Denis F. McCaithy and John O'Hagan. 

|Mr. Duffy here alluded to the Rev. Father PatricK Meany, then a curate In the 
neighboring parish of Lismore, physically and intellectually a sp endid specimen of ihe 
Irish priesthood. His Parish Priest, Dr. Fogartv, being inimical to the national movement, 
the ardent young curate was debarred from giving expression to his patriotic aspirations 
■within the bounds of his parish; and so, on all important occasions, he was found exhort- 
ing the more congenial spirits of Cappoquin — with whom he was a special favorite. Ilia 
Stirring speeches wtre invariably in Irish. 



1844 — 1845.— THE STATE TBIALS. 45 

that year, Meagher had not only explored all that district traversed by Mr. 
Duffy and his fellow-tourists, but had varied his recreations on land by 
occasional excursions on water. Boating down the Suir to Passage, Duncan- 
non, or Dunmore, or up the Barrow to Boss — and beyond that historic 
town to the junction with the Nore — a " meeting of the waters " un- 
surpassed in Ireland — save, perhaps, by the junction of the rivers Bride 
and Blackwater. Pic-nicing on " Lady's Island " or Dunbrody constituted 
another favorite enjoyment; occasionally he sailed to the mouth of the Harbor, 
and, doubling Portally-Head, skirted the perilous rock-bound coast between 
that and the bay of Tramore. 

In most of those expeditions, he was accompanied by his fellow-towns- 
man Thomas W. Condon, a young and highly intelligent locksmith, who had 
been his play-mate in childhood, and continued to be his most intimate and 
affectionate friend through life. Condon was distinguished as one of the Na- 
tion's "Thiee Poetical Mechanics" — the other two being John J. Frazer, a 
cabinet-maker, and Francis Davis, (" The Belfast Man,") a weaver. 

CORK AND ITS ENVIRONS. 

During this and the following summer, Meagher made several visits to 
Cork, the society of which city he found much more congenial to his taste 
than that of Dublin — it being less fastidious and sectarian, and far more 
cordial and intellectual. He had many warm personal friends among the old 
Catholic families of the mercantile and professional classes in the "Beau- 
tiful City,"— the Murphys, Mahonys, Lyons's, Lanes, &c, and among the 
most intimate were Charles T. Murphy, who had been his fellow-student at 
Stonyhurst, and William F. Lyons, — subsequently well known in America as 
Captain Lyons, — a distinguished member of the New York press, a true 
Irish patriot and worthy representative of the " Men of Forty-eight." 

It was in company with these and other kindred spirits, that Meagher 
made those delightful excursions to Bantry, Glengarriff, Killarney, &c, of 
which he has left such inimitable narratives in his "Personal Recollections." 
No wonder that they should be indellibly impressed on his memory; no 
wonder he should recall those days of his fresh young manhood so fondly 
and regretfully. They were the "Halcyon days" of his life. 



46 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



CHAPTER IX. 

DEATH OF THOMAS DAVIS. — MEAGHER'S ENTRY INTO POLITICAL 

LIFE. 

In the month of September, 1845, a double blight fell upon Ireland. 
Early in the month appeared the first symptoms of that strange disease 
which was fraught with such calamitous results to the physical life of the 
nation, and, while the people were viewing with undefinable alarm its with- 
ering progress through the land, there suddenly came the appalling news 
that all but paralized the national heart. '■''Thomas Davis teas dead!" The 
loving admirers of the late John Boyle O'Reilly can conceive some idea of 
the shock Davis's death gave to the men of his race who drew hope, inspi- 
ration, and instruction from the emanations of his lofty genius and loving 
heart. Never, until they lost him, did they realize how they loved him, 
or how indispensable his heaven-inspired melody was to their intellectual 
life. In the mournfully poetic language of one of his most gifted disciples: — 

" The brow of the country grew gray in a night." 
Verily, never was national minstrel so poignantly and universally mourned; 
and never were such garlands of poesy laid by cotemporary bards upon a 
brother's bier, as those that sprang spontaneously from the bruised hearts 
of his bereaved associates — who, in their desolation, felt as — 

" Sheep without a shepherd when the snow shuts out the sky." 

It was in this period of universal national despondency that Meagher 
made his first public appearance on the platform of Conciliation Hall — his 
mission there to contribute the first full-blown blossom of his genius as a 
heart-offering on the grave of " his Prophet and his Guide," and to devote 
his life and energies to the cause of which the dead patriot was his ideal 
representative and expounder ; the man " whose services excited the youth 
of the country to generous purposes and lofty deeds, and consoled the old 
patriots in their progress to the grave." 

I much regret my inability to procure a full copy of this most feeling 
and beautiful eulogy for insertion here. Its peroration contained the follow- 
ing reference to the duty of liberated Ireland to Thomas Davis: — 

"In the day of victory, towards which he had so often looked with a 
panting heart and a glowing soul, they will beckon us to the grave, bid us 
pluck a laurel from the nation's brow, and plant it on his tomb." 

Almost contemporaneous with Meagher's accession to Conciliation Hall 
was that of his friend and comrade Richard O'Gorman. then a most eracefuJ 



MEAGHER'S ENTRY INTO POLITICAL LIFE. 47 

and eloquent public speaker, and now, beyond all question, the greatest liv- 
ing orator of his race at either side of the Atlantic* 

Two other most distinguished accessions to the national cause immedi- 
ately after Davis's death, were John Mitchell and his bosom friend, Thomas 
Devin Reilly. But their influence on public opinion was manifested, not from 
the rostrum, — as was that of Meagher and O'Gorman, — but through the 
editorial and literary pages of the " Nation.'''' Even the youthful readers of 
the great journal who mourned Davis most, and could not be comforted for 
his loss, were, unconsciously, awakened to revived interest in the paper by 
the vivid brilliancy and defiant manliness of the articles which announced 
the presence of resolute and accomplished recruits on the post left vacant 
by their fallen hero. Mitchell almost immediately gained popular fame and 
literary prominence through his great historical biography, " The Life of 
Hugh O'Neill," but Reilly's brilliant abilities were not universally appreciated 
until after the appearance in the " United Irishman " of his series of prose 
poems on the Continental Revolution of u '48." 

MEAGHER IN CONCILIATION HALL. 

Some time previous to Meagher's formal adhesion to the Repeal move- 
ment, Smith O'Brien, anxious to train the young intellect of the country in 
the practical duties of legislation, had established the Parliamentary Com- 
mittee of the Repeal Association. Meagher was assigned a place on that 
committee, and proved a valuable acquisition thereto, attending to his duties 
zealously, and steadfastly. 

Writing to his friend, Condon, of his occupations at this period, he 
says : — 

"Every day, from twelve to five, I am sitting with the Parliamentary 
Committee — schooling myself in the practical branches of the national move- 
ment. And when I am not thus engaged, I am sitting with the Council of the 
Celtic Athenaeum. To-morrow I am to appear at the Association. I was most 
anxious (I say so sincerely,) to avoid coming forward for some time at least 
but Smith O'Brien insisted upon the young members relieving him by turns, 
and I was forced to consent. His words in the committee on last Tuesday 
were, 'I am desirous that government should know that the Association 
depends not upon one or two men, but that in the worst emergency — even 



* While these lines are being written, the members of the New York Bar are prepar- 
ing to confer a well deserved compliment on the venerable and distinguished ex-Judge, 
who has reflected such lustre on their profession for the last forty years. 



48 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

in the absence of its leaders — it can be conducted, and will be supported 
by the young intelligence of the country.' 

" It was certainly a flattering compliment, but it has imposed a serious 
duty. I intend to-morrow to apply myself to the policy of the Association 
— what it ought to be, and how far it is developed." 

The speech referred to, which was delivered on the 16th of February, 
1S46, was, like nearly all his best efforts, carefully prepared. But it was 
not so much to the matter of his speeches, or the beautiful and glowing 
imagery in which they were clothed, as to the fervor of conviction. — the 
intense earnestness with which they were delivered, and which was conveyed 
as by an electric spark to the hearts of his spell-bound audience — that their 
great effect was due. I have heaid one of his enthusiastic admirers assert 
that, " there was more persuasive eloquence in the shake of Meagher's fore- 
finger, than in the most elaborate speeches of other conspicuous orators of the 
period." And he was not as exaggerative as his words seem to imply; for 
thousands who have felt the influence of the " Young Tribune's" personal 
magnetism would, unqualifiedly, agree with him. 

The following is the first of his Repeal speeches: 

MEAGHER ON THE POLICY OF THE REPEAL ASSOCIATION". 

"Sir, — We have pledged ourselves never to accept the Union — to accept 
the Union upon no terms — nor any modification of the Union. It ill becomes 
a country like ours — a country with an ancient fame — a country that 
gave light to Europe, whilst Europe's oldest State of this day was yet an 
infant in civilization and in arms — a country that has written down great 
names upon the brightest page of European literature — a country that has 
sent orators into the Senate whose eloquence, to the latest day, will inspire 
free sentiments, and dictate bold acts — a country that has sent soldiers into 
the field whose courage and whose honor it will ever be our proudest 
privilege to record, if not our noblest duty to imitate — a country whose 
sculptors rank high in Rome, and whose painters have won for Irish genius 
a proud pre-eminence even iu the capital of the stranger — a country whose 
musicians may be said to stand this day in glorious rivalry with those of 
Italy, and whose poets have had their melodies re-echoed from the most 
polished courts of Europe to the loneliest dwelling in the deep forests beyond 
the Mississippi — it ill becomes a country so distinguished and respectable, 
to serve as the subaltern of England, qualified as she is to take up an emi- 
nent position, and stand erect in the face of Europe. 

"It is hers to command, for she possesses the materials of manly power 
and stately opulence. Education is abroad, and her people are being tutoret. 



MEAGHER'S ENTRY INTO POLITICAL LIFE. iO 

in the arts and virtues of an enlightened nationhood. They are being taught 
how to enjoy, and how to preserve, the beatitude of freedom. A spirit of 
brotherhood is alive, and breathing through the land. Old antipathies are 
losing ground — traditional distinctions of sect and party are being now effaced. 
Irrespective of descent or creed, we begin at last to appreciate the abilities 
and virtues of all our fellow-countrymen. "VVe now look into history with 
the generous pride of the nationalist, not with the cramped prejudice of the 
partizan. "We do homage to Irish valor, whether it conquers on the walls 
of Derry, or capitulates with honor before the ramparts of Limerick — and, 
sir, we award the laurel to Irish genius, whether it has lit its flame within 
the walls of old Trinity, or drawn its inspiration from the sanctuary of 
Saint Omer's. Acting in this spirit, we shall repair the errors, and reverse 
the mean condition of the past. If not, we perpetuate the evil that has for 
so many years consigned this country to the calamities of war and the 
infirmaties of vassalage. 'We must tolerate each other,' said Henry Grattan, 
the inspired preacher of Irish nationality — he whose eloquence, as Moore has 
described it, was ' the very music of Freedom ' — ' "VVe must tolerate each 
other, or we must tolerate the common enemy.' After years of social disor- 
der, years of detestable recrimination, between factions, and provinces, and 
■creeds, we are on the march to freedom. A nation organized and disciplined, 
instructed and inspired, under the guidance of wise spirits, and in the dawn- 
ing light of a glorious future, makes head against a powerful supremacy. 
On the march let us sustain a firm, a gallant, and a courteous bearing. 
Let us avoid all offence to those who pass us by; and, by rude affronts, 
let us not drive still further from our ranks those who at present decline 
to join. If aspersed, we must not stop to retaliate. With proud hearts, let 
.us look forward to the event that will refute all calumnies — that will vin- 
dicate our motives and recompense our labors. An honorable forbearance 
towards those who censure us, a generous respect for those who differ from 
us, will do much to diminish the difficulties that impede our progress. Let 
•us cherish, and, upon every occasion, manifest an anxiety for the preserva- 
tion of the rights of all our fellow-countrymen — their rights as citizens, their 
municipal rights — the privileges which their rank in society has given them 

— the position which their wealth has purchased or their education conferred 

— and we will in time, and before long, efface the impression that we seek 
ior Eepeal with a view to crush those rights — to erect a Church--.'. scendency, 
to injure property, and create a slave-class. 

"But, sir, whilst we thus act towards those who dissent from the prin- 
ciples we profess, let us not forget the duties we owe each other. The 
good will it becomes us to evince towards our opponents, the same should 



50 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

we cultivate among ourselves. Above all, let us cherish, and in its full integ- 
rity maintain, the right of free discussion. With his views identified with 
ours upon the one great question, let us not accuse of treason to the national 
cause the associate who may deem this measure advisable or that measure 
inexpedient. Upon subordinate questions — questions of detail — there must 
naturally arise in this assembly a difference of opinion. If views adverse to 
the majority be entertained, we should solicit their exposition and meet 
them by honest argument. If the majority rule, let the minority be heard 
Toleration of opinion will generate confidence amongst all classes, and lay 
the sure basis of national independence. 

'• But, sir, whilst we thus endeavor wisely to conciliate, let us not, to the 
strongest foe, nor in the most tempting emergency, weakly capitulate. A 
decisive attitude — an unequivocal tone — language that cannot be construed 
by the English press into the renunciation or the postponement of our claim 
— these should be the characteristics of this assembly at the present crisis, 
if we desire to convince the opponents of our freedom that our sentiments 
are sincere and our vow irrevocable. Let earnest truth, stern fidelity to 
principle, love for all who bear the name of Irishman, sustain, ennoble, and 
immortalize this cause. Thus shall we reverse the dark fortunes of the 
Irish race, and call forth here a new nation from the ruins of the old. 
Thus shall a parliament — moulded from the soil, racy of the soil, pregnant 
with the sympathies and glowing with the genius of the soil — be here raised 
up. Thus shall an honorable kingdom be enabled to fulfil the great ends 
that a bounteous providence hath assigned her — which ends have been sig- 
nified to her in the resources of her soil and the abilities of her sons." 

That speech stamped Meagher as " the orator " of the national party. 
Its noble sentiments have, ever since, furnished texts to unnumbered platform- 
patriots, on which to attach their verbose platitudes: they are shouted out 
at " Conventions," and re-echoed at " National Anniversaries," calling forth 
plaudits from sympathetic and not over-critical audiences; but the ring of 
the "silver tongue" is missing. To paraphrase De Jean's truthful lines on 
Thomas Davis: — 

"No (Tribune) minBtrel again to his greatness shall grow, 
Though many shall spring from the one lying low, 
Like twigs from the felled forest-tree. 



A CHANGE OF BASE. 51 



CHAPTER X. 



A CHANGE OF BASE. 

•Tor contumely and coercion, 
For deep treachery and desertion, 
From the ranks of your own host — 
•Mong the men you prized the most — 
(Touth of Ireland)— stand prepared " 

Mangan. 

When those prophetic lines appeared, in the spring of 1846, the country 
was startled at their import. The Irish people could not imagine that they 
applied to the men on whose guidance they had so long implicitly relied 
to lead them on the straight, though toilsome, road to national independence. 
True, it was, that, for some time past, their chief leader seemed to lack 
something of the earnest, confident spirit which characterized his course when 
making his triumphant progress through the island in 1843, — "The Repeal 
Year"(?). 

But this change was attributed to the re-actional effects of the State Prose- 
cutions, and consequent imprisonment of O'Connell and his compatriots, coupled 
with the depression caused by the recent potato-blight. That their leaders 
could, by any possibility, be induced to abandon, or compromise the national 
cause, the earnest, confiding people had no idea of. How could they believe 
in such venal treachery to themselves and treason to Ireland? 

Yet, the time was close at hand when their dreams of trusting faith 
were destined to a sudden interruption, and they were awakened to a painful 
realization of what their poet-seer meant by the warning words above 
quoted. 

The Tories had held the reins of government for some years back, and 
had just introduced a bill for the renewal of the Arms Act passed in 1843. 
But there was division in their ranks. The Protectionists, representing the 
landlord class, wished to be revenged on Sir Robert Peel for his repeal of 
the Corn Laws, and they joined the Whigs in opposing the second reading 
of the renewed Arms Act. A division took place on the 25th of June,' 
resulting in the defeat of the Administration by a majority of seventy-three. 
On the 27th the Tory ministry resigned, and on the 3rd of July the list of 
the new Whig ministry was published, with Lord John Russell at its head. 

Two months previous to this occurrence, there was a conference of Lord 



62 ME AW IRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

John Russell's parliamentary supporters at his residence in London. Among 
those who attended that levee of the expectant Premier were O'Connell and 
his son John. 

A report of the meeting in the Dublin Evening Mail attributed to- 
O'Connell the declaration that, "all he ever wanted was a real Union — the 
same laws and franchises in the two countries."* 

Mitchel, in the ensuing number of the Nation contradicted the assertion 
in the Mail, in his usual trenchant style ; — 

"O'Connell did not say this nor anything like this — he neither said nor 
thought it — and no Eepealer. even if he were base enough to think it, 
would dare to whisper it in the solitute of his chamber, lest the very birds 
of the air might carry the matter to an Irish ear. Heaven and Earth I 
what would those words, in the mouth of a Eepealer, mean? Listen to us, 
Irishmen, and we will tell you. They would mean that for four years past 
— at some thousand meetings — through five million throats — from Tara and 
Mullaghmast — from palaces of Irish kings and graves of Irish martyrs, Ire- 
land has been bellowing forth one monstrous lie in the face of all mankind 
and of God Almighty — one loud, many-voiced national lie, which the vales 
re-echoed to the hills, and they to heaven. . . In the meantime, let 
the truth be told : let us not pretend to give up or postpone Repeal, in 
order that English ministers may more readily yield us that justice which 
they have delayed as long as they could; let no Repealer dare to hint that 
a 'real Union' would satisfy us — let us avow, and make all men clearly 
understand, that what we have determined to have now is, not 'Justice to 
Ireland or Repeal,' but, ' Justice to Ireland and Repeal.' " 

*"It greatly simplifies the process of unravelling a complicated story to state at the 
threshold the result which the reader is expected to reach at the close. It is like carry 
lng a torch through a dim and lortuous labyrinth. The vigilance of the reader Is awak- 
ened, and he scrutinizes the facts submitted to him, in order to judge whether they justify 
the conclusion they are intended to sustain. Let me state, therefore, distinctly, at the out- 
set that O'Conell came to an understanding with the new Government in London, to 
support them in Parliament, and to secure the re-election of their colleagues in Ireland, 
and in return was reinstated in the control of Irish patronage in all its branches, as fully 
as he had enjoyed it when they were last in office. He immediately set out for Dublin to 
fulfil his part of the compact. From the speeches of O'Brien, Grattan and the Young 
Irelanders, it was certain that this alliance would be resisted in the Association. That it 
should not be successfully resisted, it became necessary to silence, or exclude, the men 
Whose opposition was to be feared. For this purpose, and for this purpose alone, a pledge 
was framed, which rent the Association Into fragments. It is a bitter and humiliating story 
to recall, but if history is to be of any service as a warning, if Ireland is not to run 
round in a ciicle of identical errors forever, It is a story which must be unsparingly 
told."— Sir Charles Gavan Duffy's " Four Yeaks of Irish History." 



A CHANGE OF BASE. 63 ; 



The Young Irelanders in Conciliation Hall determined to treat the ru- 
mor of any compromise with the Whigs as incredible, and its consummation 
as treason to Ireland. Meagher undertook to open the question. He com- 
menced by alluding to the report that the Whigs were about returning tO' 
office: "but," he continued, "whatever statesmen rule the empire, the policy 
of the Repeal Association would remain unchanged. The Whigs counted on. 
the apostacy of Repealers, the Conservatives predicted it, but the people 
had vowed before God and man to raise up a nation in these western 
waters, and to make it as free as the freest that bore a flag on the sea, 
or guarded a senate on the land. Let them recede, and they would win 
the applause of Whig orators; but France would placard them as cowards, 
and America indict them as swindlers. It was to the young men of Ireland, 
the trustees of its prosperity, the tempters offered the chalice of corruption. 

'"Young men,' said they, 'a long life is before you, — the luxuries of 
office and the privileges of place. To taste the former, to assume the latter, 
you must qualify by recreancy, renounce the manly duties, reject the pure 
honors of honest citizenship, cease to be the unpaid servants of your coun- 
try, become the hirelings of party. You have read the history of Ireland; 
disclaim the doctrines of Grattan and Flood; accept the maxims, emulate 
the perfidy of Castlereagh and Fitzgibbon. You are scholars, and have read 
the histories of Greece and Rome. From the story of Athens learn nothing 
but the obedience of the Helots. From the chronicles of Rome learn, if 
you like, the imperial ambition of the Caesars, but forget the stern patriot- 
ism of the Scipios and the Gracchi. Thus will you climb to power, gain 
access to the viceregal table, and be invited to masquerades at Windsor. 
Thus, if your ambition be parliamentary, .will you qualify for Melborne- 
Port, and other convenient Whig boroughs; and when at length removed 
from that country whose wretchedness would have been an incessant drain 
upon your resources, and when mingling in the lordly society of London, 
or sitting on the Treasury Bench beside your patrician benefactors, you will 
bless the Government that patronized servility, and thank God that you have 
a country to sell." 

Mr. O'Gorman endorsed the speech of his friend. " It was true and most 
opportune. A suspicion was abroad; if it was ill-founded no harm was 
done in re-stating the policy of the Association. Some such suspicion did 
exist, and .this clearly was the time to meet and trample it down." 

Mr. Mitchel "agreed in every syllable Mr. Meagher had spoken, and 
thought that was the time and place to speak it. If the Repealers were to 
retreat from their position, and enter into a compact once more with English 
factions, the best thing they could do was to shut up the hall, lock the- 



54 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

door, go home to their respective businesses, and for ever hang their head 
when men spoke of honor, patriotism, or truth." 

It was evident that the men whose sentiments were thus boldly enunci- 
ated, should be got rid of, by some means, before the proposed compact 
could be carried out, and no time was lost by either of the allied leaders 
in acting on that conviction. 

Lord John Russell, to be revenged on the "Nation, first called the atten- 
tion of Parliament to that paper as "a journal preaching* violence and social 
disorder," and followed up his attack, by vigorously pressing a Government 
prosecution against Mr. Duffy, which had been inaugurated by his predecessor, 
six months before, but which had been permitted to languish ever since. 

However, in spite of the Government efforts to secure a conviction, the 
jury, influenced by the noble speech of Eobert Holmes, for the defence, 
failed to agree, and the Nation triumphed. 

O'Connell's tactics were more successful, (for the time being,) than those 
of his colleague in the campaign; for he accomplished his purpose of ridding 
the Association of the opponents to the Whig alliance by — what may be 
termed, in military parlance — a "flank movement," combined with a direct 
attack all along the line. 

The "Dungaivan Election" led to the first skirmish. When the list of 
the new Whig ministry was published on the 3rd of July, 1846, the name 
of Richard Lalor Shiel, member of Parliament for Dungarvan, appeared 
thereon as "Master of the Mint." 

As the most brilliant orator in the struggle for Catholic Emancipation, 
Shiel had a national reputation. He had differed with O'Connell on the 
Repeal question, but on the trial of his old leader and his associates for 
seditious conspiracy in 1843-44, he was counsel for John O'Connell. On the 
strength of his revived popularity he was elected member of Parliament for 
Dungarvan. On accepting office under the Whigs he was obliged to resign 
his seat, but felt hopeful of being re-elected, for, although the majority of 
the voters of the borough were ardent Repealers, he was probably cognizant 
of the understanding between the leaders of that party and the Government, 
and apprehended no contest. 

The result showed his confidence was well-founded. O'Connell was still 
silent on the reported compact, and his reticence tended to confirm the fears 
of the earnest members of the Association that, (in the words of John 
Dillon) — " Repeal was postponed or abandoned to Whig promises." 

The time at length arrived when O'Connell could no longer postpone 
decla:ing his intentions. On the 6th of July, he resumed his place in Con- 
ciliation Hall, (having returned from London for that purpose,) and, while 



A CHANGE OF BASE. 



speaking of the probability of returning Kepealers for such places as may 
be "shortly vacant," he was interrupted by a " voice " — crying — " Dungar- 
van!" which was followed by spontaneous cheers from the meeting. Thus 
reminded, unmistakably, of the popular sentiment, O'Connell replied: — 

"You are right — quite right. If we can get a Repealer for Dungarvan 
we will do it. By this time of day you should believe me. It shall be 
referred to the Committee to take into consideration the providing of can- 
didates for the vacant places. If we can get Repealers for all those places, 
we shall of course do so, and, if necessary, I will go to Dungarvan myself. 
(Cheers). I will have the men of Dungarvan with me. I will not oppose 
men who support the present ministry, unless there be a chance that we 
can put in a Repealer, and a small chance will be enough when the people 
are on our side.'' 

The chance of success in Dungarvan was, by no means, " small ; " for, 
according to a Report published by the Association, some months previously, 
out of 163 electors in that constituency, 104 were Repealers. 

When the Committee met, the nomination of a candidate for Dungarvan 
was only two days off. O'Connell thought it would be impossible to find a 
candidate at such short nDtice. The Committee, without coming to any defi- 
nite conclusion, adjourned to the following Saturday, and, when it then met 
Shiel was member for Dungarvan — having had a " walk-o\*er." 

This result, occurring, as was evident to all, with the connivance or 
tacit consent of the rulers of the Association, had a most disastrous effect 
on the national cause. It showed the people that some form of alliance had 
been contemplated between their representatives and the new administration. 
This alliance O'Connell well knew the earnest nationalists would vehemently 
denounce by voice and pen, on the platform of Conciliation Hall, and in the 
columns of the Nation. 

To anticipate their action in the national council-chamber, he, at the 
first weekly meeting held after the Dungarvan election, introduced, what are 
known in the history of the period as the "Peace Resolutions," with the 
avowed purpose " to draw a marked line between Young and Old Ireland." 
He supposed that the men he was desirous of getting rid of would not 
acquiesce in the principle embodied in one of those resolutions: — "that to 
promote political amelioration peaceable means alone should be used to the 
exclusion of all other methods." But he was mistaken. In the debate which 
followed the introduction of the resolutions, Mitchel, O'Gorman and Meagher 
agreed in all the practical portions of the report so far as they applied to the 
Repeal Association, but they objected to being bound to the theoretical principle 
that " under no circumstances were men justifiable in seeking political ameliora- 



56 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

tions by other means than theirs." Meagher declared that, "for the practical 
purposes of the Association he was fully convinced of the propriety of having 
recourse to none other than peaceful and constitutional means; but he could 
not subscribe to the doctrine, nor could he consent to continue a member 
of the Association if such were rendered an indispensable qualification, that 
no phase of circumstances, no contingency could occur in a national history 
or in a national struggle for liberty, in which a resort to physical force 
was justifiable. 

The resolutions were adopted by the meeting, Meagher alone saying 
" Xo." O'Connell carried his Report, but he did not accomplish his purpose. 
The young men did not retire; moreover, on that same day, they so expressed 
themselves on the policy pursued at the Dungarvan election, as to make 
their retirement indispensable if that policy was to be continued without 
protest and exposure. There could be no compromise between the friends 
and opponents of Whiggery in the Association : if the former were to enjoy 
the benefit of then- bargain, the latter must go. 

«« Where there is a will, there is a way." 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE SECESSION. 



" The proceedings of this day are an event in Irish history." 

William Smith O'Briek. 

July 27th and 2Sth, 1S46, witnessed the most momentous occurrences 
that ever transpired in Conciliation Hall. They saw the culmination of the 
long-plotted Secession. John O'Connell had come over fiom London commis- 
sioned to call upon the Association to choose between his father and the 
Young Irelanders, for both could no longer remain members. Some such crisis 
had been expected, and the hall was packed to its utmost capacity. Smith 
O'Brien, Henry Grattan, and the leading Young Irelanders were present. So 
likewise were John O'Connell, his brother Daniel O'Connell, junior, and the 
full force of Conciliation Hall officials. The Lord Mayor of Dublin presided. 

The business was opened by reading a letter from O'Connell, the purport 
of which admitted of no possible mistake. The Young Irelanders were to 
fee forced out of the Association. The revised resolutions were avowedly 



TEE SECESSION. 57 



framed to draw a line between Old and Young Ireland, and that line was 
to be the one marking the inside and outside of Conciliation Hall. O'Brien 
endeavored by private remonstrance with John O'Connell to avert a crisis, 
but without success. Then, for the first time, he took his side unequivo- 
cally with the young men. At the public meeting he spoke with vigorous 
sense, dignity and force : — 

"When he joined the Association he had determined never to be a party 
to a counter-agency to that adopted by O'Connell; but at the same time he 
could not undertake to co-operate in proceedings which he considered unjust 
and impolitic. The Association had been called on to declare that no cir- 
cumstances in any country would justify the use of arms for the attainment 
of any political amelioration ; but this was a doctrine to which he did not 
subscribe. The best writers on government had laid down that in free coun- 
tries there were many circumstances which justified a recourse to arms. It 
was by the right of resistance on the part of the subject that the Queen 
held her throne. So it was with the Kings of France, Belgium, Greece, 
and Holland; and in all these cases the right had been sanctioned by the 
public policy and international law of Europe. In Ireland in '82, if the 
demand of the volunteers for a free constitution had been rejected, he believed 
such a right would have arisen. What was most unfortunate respecting this 
question was that it was purely speculative; he was not aware that there 
was a single person connected with the Association who desired an appeal 
to arms under the present circumstances. Such an appeal would be madness 
and wickedness, and neither O'Connell nor any of his family could be more 
determined in resisting it than he was. Had he been informed that it was 
intended to propose this test, he would have attended the Committee, and 
endeavored to procure a modification of it. He was afraid the tendency of 
the resolution and the letter read that day was to drive from the Associa- 
tion men identified in opinion with the Nation newspaper. This was a mea- 
sure to which he could be no party. If there was any attempt to cut off 
the Nation from connection with the Association, or to exclude the gentle- 
men agreeing with it from the Committee, he would find it impossible to 
co-operate with the Association till they were restored. But why was such 
an alternative necessary? If anything in violation of the constitution of the 
Association was done, let the individual offending be dealt with; but to raise 
a speculative question to exclude certain persons was suicidal. It pained him 
to differ in opinion with the leader of the Association, but in all public 
bodies a reasonable difference of opinion should be allowed. He trusted that 
the breach was not irreparable, and that the past might be buried in a 
general oblivion. 



«8 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

" There was another question on which he felt bound to be perfectly 
explicit; the policy of Repealers was, in his opinion, to keep a distinct na- 
tional party in the House of Commons, and to support good measures from 
whichever party they came. To maintain their independence they must not 
solicit favors from the Government, or, by accepting them, permit their 
mouths to be closed. In 1834, certain able and prominent Repealers — of 
whom the most distinguished was Mr. Shiel — took office under the Whigs. 
What was the result? He would not say they were convinced, but certainly 
they were silenced. If the Association meant to encourage such a system 
he could not coincide with them. The State trial had not discouraged the 
Repeal cause so much as the loss of Dungarvan. He trusted nothing would 
be done to destoy a confederacy the most powerful that ever existed for 
the achievement of a people's liberty."* 

John O'Connell, in his reply to this manly and straight-forward speech, 
commenced with a defence of the Whig alliance. He asked — "Was it in ac- 
cordance with Irish generosity to condemn the Whigs before they had time 
to show what they would do? As to patronage, places must be filled by 
men of education and acquirements; were they to be uniformly filled by 
enemies of the popular cause? Must avowed Repealers, though their health 
and fortunes were depressed, give the pas to them?"t 

Coming to the subject of the Peace Resolutions he said: — 

"Look at the countries revolutionized by force. Take America; mob law 
prevailed, honest debts were repudiated by acts of the legislature, convents 
were pillaged, and the breeding of slaves was favored and encouraged." 
(A distorted and not over-complimentary picture of the "Hope of opressed 
Humanity.") "Look at France; the press was shackled, the voice of public 
opinion impeded in every way, and one-fourth of the representatives were 
paid servants of the crown." (Whatever truth may be in that statement, 
"Public opinion — with a musket on his shoulder," righted the wrong, 
in short order, in less than two years thereafter.) "In Belgium there was 
an infidel party, which, in case of a conflict of the continental powers, 
would betray her to the invader. Whatever the consequences might be, 
therefore, he could not consent to modify the Resolutions. His father could 
not accept the aid of any man who did not agree with them. The Associ- 
ation had, of course, a right to modify them to meet the views of Mr. 
O'Brien and the Young Ireland party, but that moment the founder of the 
Association must retire." 



Four Years of Irish History, pages 327-229. tlbld, page 230. 



MEAGHER'S "SWORD SPEECH:' 59 

Soon after John O'Connell had concluded, the meeting was adjourned to 
next day. 

The adjourned meeting was opened by the Secretary reading a letter of 
remonstrance addressed to him by the Editor of the Nation, justifying the 
policy of that journal. John O'Connell made a lengthy reply to the letter, 
and Mr. Mitchell responded in defence of the Nation. In the course of his 
speech he declared that "It was plain to all the world the cause of dissen- 
sion in the Hall was not physical force; nobody was in the least afraid of 
physical force, but many were mortally afraid of Whiggery and place- 
begging. 

" Do you think," he demanded, " that men, who had been one day beg- 
ging at the door of the English Minister would come next day to the Hall, 
to help the country to get rid of English Ministers altogether? For his 
part he had entered the Association, believing it was to be made an instru- 
ment for wresting the country out of the hands of English parties, not a 
coadjutor with either of them in perpetuating its degradation." 

The climax came when Meagher came forward to address the meeting. 
His speech on the occasion was the most famous ever delivered in that 
Hall, as it was the last specimen of genuine eloquence ever heard therein. 
Through its magnificent peroration — the "Apostrophe to the Sword" — it is 
known to school-boys for two generations in the United States; yet there 
are but comparatively few who have had the opportunity of reading the 
entire address. For this reason, and as a duty both to the dead orator and 
to future generations of his admirers in both hemispheres, — the speech is 
inserted in full here: — 

MEAGHER'S "SWORD SPEECH." 

Delivered in Conciliation Hall, Dublin, July 28th, 1846. 

"My Lord Mayor: I will commence as Mr. Mitchel concluded, by an allu- 
sion to the Whigs. I fully concur with my friend, that the most comprehensive 
measures which the Whig Minister may propose will fail to lift this country up 
to that position which she has the right to occupy, and the power to maintain. 
A Whig Minister, I admit, may improve the province — he will not restore 
the nation. Franchises, tenant-compensation bills, liberal appointments, may 
ameliorate — they will not exalt. They may meet the necessities — they will 
not call forth the abilities of the country. The errors of the past may be 
repaired — the hopes of the future will not be fulfilled. With a vote in one 
pocket, a lease in the other, and full 'justice' before him at the petty ses- 
sions — in the shape of a ' restored -magistrate ' — the humblest peasant may 



•60 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

be told that he is free; but, my lord, he will not have the character of a 
freeman — his spirit to dare, his energy to act. From the stateliest mansion, 
down to the poorest cottage in the land, the inactivity, the meanness, the 
debasement, which provincialism engenders, will be perceptible. 

" These are not the crude sentiments of youth, though the mere com- 
mercial politician, who has deduced his ideas of self-government from the 
table of imports and exports, may satirize them as such. Age has uttered 
them, my lord, and the experience of eighty years has preached them to 
the people. A few weeks since, and there stood in the Court of Queen's 
Bench an old and venerable man, to teach the country the lessons he had 
learned in his youth, beneath the portico of the Irish Senate House, and 
which, during a long life, he had treasured in his heart, as the costliest 
legacy a true citizen could bequeath the land that gave him birth. 

"What said this aged orator? 

" ' National independence does not necessarily lead to national virtue and 
happiness; but reason and experience demonstrate that public spirit and gen- 
eral happiness are looked for in vain under the withering influence of 
provincial subjection. The very consciousness of being dependent on another 
power, for advancement in the scale of national being, weighs down the 
spirit of a people, manacles the . efforts of genius, depresses the energies of 
virtue, blunts the sense of common glory and common good, and produces 
an insulated selfishness of character, the surest mark of debasement in the 
individual, and mortality in the State.*' 

" My lord, it was once said by an eminent citizen of Borne, the elder 
Pliny, that ; we owe our youth and . manhood to our country, but our declin- 
ing age to ourselves.' This may have been the maxim of the Roman — it 
is not the maxim of the Irish patriot. One might have thought that the 
anxieties, the labors, the vicissitudes of a long career, had dimmed the fire 
which burned in the heart of the illustrious old man whose words I have 
eited; but now, almost from the shadow of death, he comes forth with the 
vigor of youth and the authority of age, to serve the country — in the 
defence of which he once bore arms — by an example, my lord, that must 
shame the coward, rouse the sluggard, and stimulate the bold. 

"These sentiments have sunk deep into the public mind. They are recited 
as the national creed. Whilst these sentiments inspire the people, I have no 
fear for the national cause — I do not dread the venal influence of the 
Whigs. Inspired by such sentiments, the people of this country will look 
beyond the mere redress of existing wrongs, and strive for the attainment 
of future power. 

"A good government may, indeed, redress the grievances of an injured 



MEAGHEB'S "SWORD SPEECH" 61 

people; but a strong people can aloue build up a great nation. To be strong, 
a people must be self-reliant, self-ruled, self-sustained. The dependence of 
one people upon another, even for the benefits of legislation, is the deepest 
source of national weakness. By an unnatural law it exempts a people from 
their just duties,— their just responsibilities. When you exempt a people 
from these duties, from these responsibilities, you generate in them a distrust 
in their own powers. Thus you enervate, if you do not utterly destroy, 
that spirit which a sense of these responsibilities is sure to inspire, and 
which the fulfilment of these duties never fails to invigorate. Where this 
spirit does not actuate, the country may be tranquil — it will not be pros- 
perous. It may exist — it will not thrive. It may hold together — it will 
not advance. Peace it may enjoy — for peace and serfdom are compatible. 
But, my lord, it will neither accumulate wealth, nor win a character. It 
will neither benefit mankind by the enterprise of its merchants, nor instruct 
mankind by the examples of its statesmen. I make these observations, for it 
js the custom of some moderate politicians to say, that when the Whigs 
have accomplished the ' pacification ' of the country, there will be little or 
no necessity for Eepeal. My lord, there - is something else, there is every- 
thing else, to be done when the work of 'pacification' has been accomplished 
— and here it is hardly necessary to observe, that the prosperity of a country 
is, perhaps, the sole guarantee for its tranquility, and that the more universal 
the prosperity, the more permanent will be the repose. But the Whigs will 
enrich as well as pacify! Grant it, my lord. Then do I conceive that the 
necessity for Eepeal will augment. Great interests demand great safeguards. 
The prosperity of a nation requires the protection of a senate. Hereafter a 
national senate may require the protection of a national army. 

"So much for the extraordinary affluence with which we are threatened; 
and which, it is said by gentlemen on the opposite shore of the Irish Sea, 
will crush this Association, and bury the enthusiasts who clamor for Irish 
nationality, in a sepulchre of gold. This prediction, however, is feebly sus- 
tained by the ministerial programme that has lately appeared. On the evening 
of the 16th the Whig Premier, in answer to a question that was put to 
him by the member for Finsbury, Mr. Duncombe, is reported to have made 
this consolatory announcement : — 

" ' AVe consider that the social grievances of Ireland are those which are 
most prominent — and to which it is most likely to be in our power to 
afford, not a complete and immediate remedy, but some remedy, some kind 
of improvement, so that some kind of hope may be entertained that, some 
ten or twelve years hence, the country will, by the measures we undertake, 
be in a far better state with respect to the frightful destitution and misery 



62 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

which now prevails in that country. We have that practical object in view.' 
"After that most consolatory announcement, my lord, let those who 
have the patience of Job and the poverty of Lazarus, continue in good faith 
'to wait on Providence and the Whigs' — continue to entertain 'some kind of 
hope ' that if not ' a complete and immediate remedy,' at least ' some rem- 
edy,' ' some improvement ' will place this country in ' a far better state ' 
than it is at present, 'some ten or twelve years hence.' After that, let 
those who prefer the periodical boons of a Whig government to that which 
would be the abiding blessing of an Irish Parliament — let those who deny 
to Ireland what they assert for Poland — let those who would inflict, as 
Henry Grattan said, an eternal disability upon this country, to which Prov- 
dence has assigned the largest facilities for power — let those who would 
ratify the ' base swap,' as Mr. Shiel once stigmatised the Act of Union, 
and who would stamp perfection upon that deed of perfidy — let such men 

— " Plod on in sluggish misery, 

Rotting from sire to sire, from age to age, 
Proud of their trampled nature." 

But we, my lord, who are assembled in this Hall, and in whose hearts the 
Union has not bred the slave's disease — we who have not been imperialised 
— we are here, with the hope to undo that work, which, forty-six years 
ago, dishonored the ancient peerage, and subjugated the people of our 
country. 

"My lord, to assist the people of Ireland to undo that work, I came 
to this Hall. I came to repeal the Act of Union — I came here for nothing 
else. Upon every other question, I feel myself at perfect liberty to differ 
from each and every one of you. Upon questions of finance — questions of 
a religious character — questions of an educational character — questions of 
municipal policy — questions that may arise from the proceedings of the 
legislature — upon all these questions, I feel myself at perfect liberty to 
differ from each and every one of you. Yet more, my lord, I maintain 
that it is my right to express my opinion upon each of these questions, if 
necessary. The right of free discussion I have here upheld. In the exercise 
of that right I have differed, sometimes, from the leader of this Association, 
and would do so again. That right I will not abandon — I shall maintain 
it to the last. In doing so, let me not be told that I seek to undermine 
the influence of the leader of this Association and am insensible to his ser- 
vices. My lord, I am grateful for his services, :ind will uphold his just 
influence. This is the first time I have spoken in these terms of that illus- 
trious man, in this Hall. I did not do so before — I felt it was unnecessary. 



MEAGHER'S "SWORD SPEECH:' 63 

I hate unnecessary praise — I scorn to receive it — I scorn to bestow it. No, 
my lord, I am not ungrateful to the man who struck the fetters off my 
arms, whilst I was yet a child, and by whose influence, my father — the 
first Catholic who did so for two hundred years — sat, for the last two 
years, in the civic chair of an ancient city. But, my lord, the same God 
who gave to that great man the power to strike down an odious ascendancy 
in this country, and enabled him to institute in this land the glorious law 
of religious equality — the same God gave to me a mind that is my own — 
a mind that has not been mortgaged to the opinions of any man or any 
set of men — a mind that I was to use, and not surrender. 

" My lord, in the exercise of that right, which I have here endeavored 
to uphold — a right which this Association should preserve inviolate, if it 
desires not to become a despotism. In the exercise of that right, I have 
differed from Mr. O'Connell on previous occasions, and differ from him now. 
I do not agree with him in the opinion he entertains of my friend, Charles 
Gavan Duffy — that man whom I am proud, indeed, to call my friend — 
though he is a ' convicted conspirator,' and suffered for you in Richmond 
prison. I do not think he is a 'maligner.' I do not think he has lost, or 
deserves to lose, the public favor. I have no more connection with the Nation 
than I have with the Times. I, therefore, feel no delicacy in appearing here 
this day in defence of its principles, with which I avow myself identified. 
My lord, it is to me a source of true delight and honest pride to speak 
this day in defence of that great journal. I do not fear to assume the 
position. Exalted though it be, it is easy to maintain it. The character of 
that journal is above reproach. The ability that sustains it has won a Euro- 
pean fame. The genius of which it is the offspring, the truth of which it 
is the oracle, have been recognized, my lord, by friends and foes. I care 
not how it may be assailed — I care not howsoever great may be the talent, 
howsoever high may be the position, of those who now consider it their 
duty to impeach its writings — I do think that it has won too splendid a 
reputation to lose the influence it has acquired. The people, whose enthusi- 
asm has been kindled by the impetuous fire of its verse, and whose 
sentiments have been ennobled by the earnest purity of its teaching, will 
not ratify the censure that has been pronounced upon it in this Hall. Truth 
will have its day of triumph, as well as its day of trial; and I foresee 
that the fearless patriotism which, in those pages, has braved the prejudices 
of the day, to enunciate grand truths, will triumph in the end. My lord, 
such do I believe to be the character, such do I anticipate will be the fate 
of the principles that are now impeached. This brings me to what may be 
called the 'question of the day.' Before I enter upon that question, however, 



64 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMA S FBANCIS ME A GHEB. 

I will allude to one observation which fell from the honorable member for 
Kilkenny,* and which may be said to refer to those who expressed an 
opinion that has been construed into a declaration of war. 

"The honorable gentleman said — in reference, I presume, to those who 
dissented fiom the resolutions of Monday — that 'Those who were loudest in 
their declarations of war, were usually the most backward in acting up to 
these declarations.' 

"My lord, I do not find fault with the honorable gentleman for giving 
expression to a very ordinary saying, but this I will say, that I did not 
volunteer the opinion he condemns — to the declaration of that opinion I was 
forced. You left me no alternative — I should compromise my opinion, or 
avow it. To be honest, I avowed it. I did not do so to brag, as they say. 
We have had too much of that ' bragging ' in Ireland. I would be the last 
to imitate the custom. "Well, I dissented from those 'peace resolutions' — 
as they are called. Why so? In the first place, my lord, I conceive that 
there was not the least necessity for them. No member of this Association 
suggested an appeal to arms. No member of this Association advised it. 
Xo member of this Association would be so infatuated as to do so. In the 
existing circumstances of the country, an excitement to arms would be sense- 
less — and wicked, because irrational. To talk, now-a-days, of repealing the 
Act of Union by force of arms, would be to rhapsodize. If the attempt 
were made, it would be a decided failure. There might be a riot in the 
street — there would be no revolution in the country. The secretary, Mr. 
Crean, will far more effectually promote the cause of Repeal, by registering 
votes in Green street than registering fire-arms in the Head Police-Office. 
Conciliation Hall on Burg-quay, is more impregnable than a rebel camp on 
Vinegar Hill. The hustings, at Dundalk, will be more successfully stormed 
than the Magazine in the Park. The registry club, the reading-room, the 
polling-booths, these are the only positions in the country we can occupy. 
Voters' certificates, books, pamphlets, newspapers, these are the only wea- 
pons we can employ. Therefore, my lord, I cast my vote in favor of the 
peaceful policy of this Association. It is the only policy we can adopt. If 
that policy be pursued with truth, with courage, with fixed determination 
of purpose, I firmly believe it will succeed. 

"But, my lord, I dissented from the resolutions before us, for other 
reasons. I stated the first — I now come to the second. I dissented from 
them, for I felt, that, by assenting to them, I should have pledged myself 
to the unqualified repudiation of physical force in all countries, at all times, 

♦John O'Connell. 



MEAGHER'S "SWORD SPEECH" 65 



and under every circumstance. This I could not do. For. my lord, I do 
not abhor the use of arms in the vindication of national rights. There are 
times when arms will alone suffice, and when political ameliorations call for 
a drop of blood, and many thousand drops of blood. Opinion, I admit, will 
operate against opinion. But, as the honorable member for Kilkenny has 
observed, force must be used against force. The soldier is proof against an 
argument — but he is not proof against a bullet. The man that will listen 
to reason — let him be reasoned with, but it is the weaponed arm of the 
patriot that can alone prevail against battalioned despotism. 

" Then, my lord, I do not condemn the use of arms as immoral, nor do 
I conceive it profane to say, that the King of Heaven — the Lord of Hosts! 
the God of Battles! bestows His benediction upon those who unsheath the 
6 word in the hour of a nation's peril. 

"From that evening on which, in the valley of Bethulia He nerved the 
arm of the Jewish girl to smite the drunken tyrant in his tent, down to 
this day, in which He has blessed the insurgent chivalry of the Belgian 
priest, His Almighty hand hath ever been stretched forth from His throne 
of Light, to consecrate the flag of freedom — to bless the patriot's swordJ 
Be it in the defence, or be it in the assertion of a people's liberty, I hail 
the sword as a sacred weapon: and if, my lord, it has sometimes taken 
the shape of the serpent and reddened the shroud of the oppressor with too 
deep a dye, like the anointed rod of the High Priest, it has at other times, 
and as often, blossomed into celestial flowers to deck the freeman's brow. 

"Abhor the sword — stigmatise the sword? No, my lord, for, in the 
passes of the Tyrol, it cut to pieces the banner of the Bavarian, and, through 
those cragged passes, struck a path to fame for the peasant insurrectionist 
Of Inspruck! 

"Abhor the sword — stigmatise the sword? No, my lord, for, at its blow, 
a giant nation started from the waters of the Atlantic, and by its redeem- 
ing magic, and in the quivering of its crimson light, the crippled Colony 
sprang into the attitude of a proud Republic — prosperous, limitless, and 
invincible ! v__ 

"Abhor the sword — stigmatise the sword? No, my lord, for it swept 
the Dutch marauders out of the fine old towns of Belgium — scourged them 
back to their own phlegmatic swamps — and knocked their flag and sceptre, 
their laws and bayonets into the sluggish waters of the Scheldt. 

"My lord, I learned that it was the right of a nation to govern herself 
— not in this Hall, but upon the ramparts of Antwerp. This, the first article 
of a nation's creed, I learned upon those ramparts, where freedom was justly 



66 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

estimated, and the possession of the precious gift was purchased by the 
effusion of generous blood. 

"My lord, I honor the Belgians, I admire the Belgians, I love the Bel- 
gians, for their enthusiasm, their courage, their success, and I, for one, 
will not stigmatise, for I do not abhor, the means by which they obtained 
a Citizen King, a Chamber of Deputies'" 

John O'Connell interrupted this thrilling burst of eloquence by protest- 
ing that, " The sentiments Mr. Meagher avowed were opposed to those of 
the founder of the Association, and therefore the Association must cease to 
exist, or Mr. Meagher must cease to be a member of it. If the meeting 
approved of these sentiments he would retire." 

That this champion of what Tom. Steele designated the "gorgeous ethic 
experiment," had reason to fear the effect of the young orator's electric 
appeal to the hearts of an appreciative Irish assembly, may be judged from 
the following recollections of the memorable scene by an eye-witness : — 

"When Meagher began to speak, he was received with coldness, even 
with rudeness; but he gradually stole on the sympathies of the audience. 
He warmed on his subject, and the warmth became contagious; until when 
he rose to the height of his theme there appeared to be but one heart in 
the meeting, and it beat in accord with the orator. The enthusiasm of the 
people, suppressed for a time, broke out at last, like a sudden storm, in 
bursts of ecstacy. It was perhaps the greatest speech that historic hall 
ever echoed." * 

Smith O'Brien, who had watched the second day's debate in silence, now 
addressed the meeting as follows: — 

" I am afraid that the alternative which has been presented to us by 
Mr. John O'Connell is of such a nature as necessarily to compel the termi- 
nation of this discussion, because he gives us no other choice than his 
seceding from the Association, or closing this discussion. But I cannot 
allow this meeting to come to such a conclusion without expressing my 
opinion that the course of argument adopted by Mr. Meagher was perfectly 
fair and legitimate. I understand we were invited to come here to-day for 
the purpose of considering deliberately whether any gentleman can continue 
a member of this Association who entertains the opinion, conscientiously, 
that there are occasions whioh justify a nation resorting to the sword for 
the vindication of its liberties. 

" Mr. Meagher has distinctly stated that he joined this Association for the 
purpose of obtaining repeal by peaceful and moral means alone. But he 

*"Four Tears of Irish History," page 23S. 



CONSEQUENCES OF TEE SECESSION. 67 

does not consider, nor do I consider, that when you invite us to a discus- 
sion of this description, we are precluded from asserting the opinion which, 
after all, is involved in the discussion; and for submitting such reasons as 
we feel ourselves at liberty to submit to our fellow-countrymen in vindication 
of the opinions which have been arraigned. Remember this, gentlemen, — and 
it is fit you should remember it, — for the proceedings of this day are an event 
in Irish history. You are charged with being a people who will cever give 
fair play to an adversary. You are charged with being willing slaves to 
any despot who may obtain the reins of power at a particular moment. 
This is the charge against the Irish people. I entertain a different opinion 
of them. I should designate as a calumniator the man who would give you 
such a character; but I ask you, are you now going to fortify, as far as 
regards this assembly, the assertion of your enemies, by putting down the 
man who is endeavoring calmly and dispassionately to discuss a question to 
which he was invited — which he was compelled to discuss? If this discus- 
sion be terminated, I shall have the satisfaction of entering my protest 
against the proceedings which put down Mr. Meagher on the present occa- 
sion."* 

Meagher again arose and attempted to finish his speech, but he was, 
once more, interrupted by John O'Connell, who said : " The question was 
not should a young man be put down? but should the young man put 
down the Association? It was a question between the founder and certain 
objectors; if the members would not stand by the founder, let them adopt 
other resolutions and another leader." 

This ended it. O'Brien and his friends, accompanied by a considerable 
section of the meeting, left the Hall. The Secession was accomplished. 
Thenceforth the supporters of the Whig alliance had a clear stage on 
which to carry out their share of the contract. With what result to the 
country and themselves, a brief reference to the records of the ensuing two 
years will suffice to show. 



CHAPTER XII. 

IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECESSION, 

The country was at first too bewildered to comprehend the momentous 
influence of the Secession on the national cause. The people hoped it was 

* " Four Tears of Irish History," pages 23S-9. 



68 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

Only a temporary disagreement among their, hitherto, trusted leaders; but 
as time wore on the breach became widened, until at length it became 
clearly apparent that the country was politically divided into two parties — 
the one consisting of those brought up in O'Connell's school of politics — 
and the other composed of those who imbibed their national doctrine from 
the teachings of the Nation. In nearly every parish where a branch of the 
Association existed, the division was manifested — with more or less intensity 
of feeling on the part of the more excitable spirits, until, in the space of 
a few months, more than half of the Repeal Reading-Rooms were closed, 
and the Association itself reduced to virtual bankruptcy. For, although in 
the first three meetings after the Secession the weekly receipts at Concilia- 
tion Hall amounted to more than treble the average of what they had been 
for weeks preceding that event; yet it was but a spasmodic effort which 
could not be maintained, and in the month of October following, O'Connell 
publicly announced in the Hall that the Association was in his debt. 

The circumstances which led to this unexpected revelation were as 
follows : — 

When Thomas Davis died, his admirers resolved on erecting a suitable 
testimonial to his memory. A committee of eminent men, of different polit- 
ical views, was constituted to take charge of the undertaking, and a list of 
subscriptions was published in the Dubin papers of the time. Among the 
subscribers the Repeal Association was pledged for two hundred pounds, to 
be paid when the committee had decided on the form the testimonial was 
to take. After the lapse of about a year, it was decided on having a marble 
statue of Davis executed by Hogan. The committee then proceeded to call 
In the subscriptions, but when the subject was brought up at a meeting of 
the Association, O'Connell interposed with the words: — "You must be just 
before you are generous, — The Association is in my debt." 

But not only did the funds of the Association rapidly decline under 
John O'Connell's management of that body, but several of its most respectable 
members, — unaffiliated with the Young Irelanders — absented themselves from 
its meetings — being utterly opposed to identifying themselves with the course 
of aciion pursued by the new leader in regard to the men whom his intol- 
erance had driven away. 

Maurice O'Connell, the Liberator's eldest and most gifted son, was among 
the most distinguished of these gentlemen. He had been opposed to the 
Secession from its contemplation, and after its accomplishment he never 
entered Conciliation Hall during his father's life-time. Up to the last day 
of his own life he maintained that all the trouble was caused by his brother 



CONSEQUESCES OF THE SECESSION. 69 

John, whose evil influence over his father was exerted for the gratification 
of his own vanity and malignity. 

"It is a significant commentary on the conduct of this man who not 
only — "abhorred and stigmatised the sword" — himself, but would fain force 
the slavish doctrine on his countrymen, that he subsequently strutted through 
the streets of the Irish Capital with the calumniated weapon clanging at his 
heels — a full-fledged "Captain" — of the "Home-Guards." 

It need not, however, excite any comment to learn that he supplemented 
his pay as a brave Militia-man, by that of Clerk of the Haneper — a gov- 
ernment sinecure which he enjoyed to the day of his death — this being but 
a sample of the emoluments derived by the men of his class who were 
parties to the " Whig compact." 

The English administration, in whose interest the national organization 
was systematically disrupted and the national aspirations sacrificed, proved 
to be the most murderous in its policy of any that ever ruled the destinies 
of the Irish people. For, under its auspices was inaugurated the cold-blooded 
destruction of a gallant race by the agency of the twin plagues of Famine 
and Pestilence, which, in two years, did more deadly execution than did all 
the sanguinary wars waged against the national existence for the previous 
six centuries. This is no exaggerated assertion, the ghastly records of the 
time verifies it in incontrovertible statistics, so far as regards the number 
of the victims. That the Government was responsible for their death the 
following damning facts will testify. 

When, in the Autumn of 1S45, the "potato-blight" made its sudden 
appearance and destroyed more than half the sustenance of the Irish people 
at one fell stroke, a Tory administration was in power. But the prompt, 
humane, and statesman-like action of the premier, Sir Robert Peel, was 
equal to the exigency, and, during his term of office, very few, (if any,) 
deaths from hunger occurred in Ireland. 

His successor in office, Lord John Russell, had full warning of the 
recurring calamity, and, in the example set by the Tory statesman, the 
means of averting its evil consequences, had he been inclined to avail him- 
self thereof. 

But his " free-trade-in-human-lives " policy tended in the opposite direction, 
and the caculating, cold-blooded political economist, not only complacently 
presided over the people's " legal " assassination by famine and famine-en- 
gendered fever, but, with a savagery unmatched by Cromwell's, had his 
liveried murderers shoot down the unarmed, hunger-maddened peasants, who 
tried to prevent the food raised by their toil from being shipped by his 



70 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

speculating proteges to a foreign land, before the faces of themselves and 
their starving families. 

No Irishman who witnessed those appalling scenes, can ever forget them, 
— or, from his heart, forgive those responsible therefor : — therefore, none such 
need be reminded of their indiscribable horrors. I recall them here for the 
information of a younger generation — descendants of the murdered and expa- 
triated victims of English rule — that so they may appreciate the motives 
of the men who, in the face of persecution and obloquy, took their stand 
between the people and their leagued enemies; and, also, that they may 
cherish, in their heart of hearts, the holy and implacable hatred of the 
assassins, until, by God's justice a day of fitting retribution is vouchsafed 
the true men of then- imperishable and unconquerable race. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



SPERANZA" ON MEAGHER. 

By no possible stretch of the imagination can the present generation 
Conceive the effect produced by the " Sword Speech," on Meagher's youthiul 
cotemporaries of both sexes, throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. 
The enthusiasm it evoked is indescribable. The pride-full elation of tone and 
spirit with which it was read aloud to admiring groups in town and coun- 
try, for weeks upon weeks after its delivery, found sympathetic responses 
in the flashing eyes, flushed faces, and heaving breasts of the entranced 
listeners. Old people felt their hearts kindling once more, as if in the 
glow of the beacon-fires that lit the hills in "Ninety-eight." Reminiscences 
of Emmet were recalled, and loving comparisons instituted between the idol 
of their youthful prime and the hero who seemed destined by Providence 
to be his heir and his avenger. Even the most steadfast supporters of 
O'Connell. veterans of all his campaigns, whose faith in their old leader 
remained unshaken, — and some of whom affected in public to sneer at the 
Secessionists in the aggregate,— were known to express, — in private, — their 
unqualified admiration of Meagher's sentiments as enunciated in that unrivalled 
fpeech. 



'SPEBANZA" OS ME A GHEE. 



But, if the masses of the orator's admirers were thus spontaneously 
affected by the spirit of his impassioned appeal to all that was noble and 
manly in their nature, his more enlightened personal friends and compatriots 
— those intellectually qualified to judge of its transcendant beauties, its prob- 
able effects on contemporaneous politics, and the place it was destined to 
occupy in the future among the most celebrated orations in the language,— 
were no less emphatic in their expressions of triumphant delight. Yet, high 
above them all, in her conceptions of the young orator's mission on earth. 
Bnd of his glorious career in the hidden future, the glowing genius of 
"Speranza" soared in this Heaven-inspired pcean: — 

THE YOUNG PATRIOT LEADER. 

O! He stands beneath the sun, that glorious Fated One, 

Like a martyr or conqueror, wearing 
On his brow a mighty doom — be it glory, be it gloom, 

The shadow of a crown it is bearing. 

At his Cyclopean stroke the proud heart of man awoke, 
Like a king from his lordly down lying ; 
i And wheresoe'er he trod, like the footstep of a god, 

Was a trail of light the gloom outvying. 

In his beauty and his youth, the Apostle of the Truth, 

Goes he forth with the words of Salvation, 
And a noble madness falls on each spirit he enthralls, 

As he chants his wild pasans to the nation. 

As a Tempest in its force, as a Torrent in its course, 

So his words fiercely sweep all before them ; 
And they smite like two-edged swords, those undaunted thunder words, 

On all hearts, as tho' Angels did implore them. 

See our pale cheeks how they flush, as the noble visions rush, 

On our soul's most dark desolation — 
And the glorious lyric words — Right, Freedom, and our Swords! — 

"Wake the strong chords of life to vibration. 

Ay — right noble, in good sooth, seem'd he battling for the Truth 

When he poured the full tide of his scorn 
Pown upon the Tyrant's track, like an Alpine cataract — 

Ah ! — such men wait an y£on to be born. 



72 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

So he stood before us then, one of God's eternal men, 

Flashing eye, and hero mould of stature, 
With a glory and a light circling round his brow of might, 

That revealed his right royal kingly nature. 

Lo ! he leadeth on our bands, Freedom's banner in his hands. 

Let us aid him, not with words, but doing ; 
With the marches of the brave, prayers of might that strike and save. 

Not a slavish spirit's abject suing. 

Thus in glory is he seen, though his years are yet but green, 

The Anointed as Head of our Nation — 
For high Heaven hath decreed that a soul like his must lead, 

Let us kneel then in deep adoration. 

O ! his mission is divine — dash down the Lotus wine — 

Too long in your tranced sleep abiding ; 
And by him who gave us life, we shall conquer in the strife, 

So we follow but that Young Chief's guiding. 

Speranza (Lady Wilde). 

Though transfigured in the light of the resplendent aureole with which 
the genius of Poesy has enveloped the figure depicted in the foregoing 
lyric, the original of the picture was recognized by all who shared in the 
singer's ecstatic admiration of the young patriot's soul-thrilling eloquence, 
and in her glowing hopes of his future influence in shaping the destinies of 
their beloved country. 

But, it is safe to say, that to none of those enthusiasts save the Poet- 
Seeress herself, was vouchsafed the mystic faculty of piercing the veil which 
hid her hero's future from the common ken, and, in oracular words, fore- 
shadowing the destiny that awaited him. 

When it is remembered that, at the time those prophetic lines were 
penned, their subject had not, as yet, experienced any of the extraordinary 
vicissitudes which subsequently befell him, and which now serve as beacon- 
lights by which his Romantic career can be traced to its fated termination; 
when, in the reflection of actual events, the significance of the prophesy has 
become manifest to all, one cannot help giving some credit to the belief 
held in pre-Christian times by our Celtic forefathers — that, " to the Poet 
is accorded that mystic gift of 'Second Sight,' which reveals coming events 
to his mental vision;" and as a corrollary of this belief we hold that tha 



THE IRISH CONFEDERATION. 



mantle of "Bride" — the Celtic Goddess of Poetry — never descended to a 
worthier heiress within the "Four Seas of Innisfail" than "Speranza." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

FROM THE SECESSION TO THE FORMATION OF THE IRISH 
CONFEDERATION. 

The "Rule or Ruin" party in the Repeal Association, though successful 
In their object of forcing the opponents of their new line of policy to with- 
draw from that body, failed in their efforts to crush the organ of the 
malcontents. Never, in the history of Irish journalism, was the power of 
an able, honest and fearless exponent of public opinion so signally mani- 
fested as by the Nation during the critical interval between the Secession 
and the formation of the Irish Confederation. 

For, during these six months, it was publicly and privately assailed by 
the Association and its adherents — lay and clerical; every species of calumny 
was heaped upon it and its editor, his aiders, and abettors. But, in its 
battle for Truth and Right it triumphed over all. 

It had, from the first, a reliable, though widely-scattered following ol 
staunch and enthusiastic adherents, and these were being steadily augmented 
by the more moderate Repealers expelled weekly from the Association foi 
presuming to remonstrate against the persistent efforts made in that body to 
widen the breach and perpetuate disunion in the national ranks. 

The regular staff of the Nation was, at this time, re-inforced by a vol- 
unteer corps of contributors from the ranks of the leading Seceders : foi 
Smith O'Brien (who could not bear that any efficient man should remain 
idle at such a crisis,) had proposed " that the young men, instead of public 
meetings, or a rival Association, should apply themselves to prepare papers 
on the public wants and interests of the country, and have them published 
in the Nation, in a special department, and with the writers' signatures. 
The new department was named the "Irish Party."* 



Four Years of Iiish History. 



74 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

The project was successfully carried out. O'Brien, Dillon, Doheny, 
McCarthy, Martin, Mitchel and others contributing to the series, and thereby 
adding considerably to the interest felt in the Nation 

For several weeks both the Seceders and the Nation forbore from retort- 
ing on the their assailants; but at lecgth forbearance became impossible, for 
their insulted followers throughout the country would no longer submit 
in silence to those reiterated taunts and calumnies. Cork led the van in 
remonstrating against this course of action. Limerick followed suit, and 
eventually Dublin felt called upon to "Remonstrate" against the altered 
policy of the Association. 

The Dublin remonstrance was signed by seventy-four Repeal Wardens. 
over three hundred members and a thousand associates, each name followed 
by the address of the subscriber. A deputation holding cards of membership 
was appointed to present it. They were refused admittance to Conciliation 
Hall. They requested an interview with John O'Connell, but he refused to re- 
ceive them. They sent the Remonstrance by a messenger to the Chairman of 
the meeting, but John O'Connell ordered the messenger of the Association to 
throw it out of the door. The messenger flung it into the gutter. This 
took place on the 24th of October, 1846. 

The Remonstrants lost no time in calling a public meeting of their 
fellow-citizens. It was held in the great Hall of the Rotunda, and was the 
greatest meeting seen in Dublin since the burial of Thomas Davis. The 
hall had been decorated for the occasion under the supervision of Meagher. 
On a raised platform decorated with banners of green and gold, bearing the 
most illustrious names in Irish history, sat the leaders of the new move- 
ment and their most influential followers. There were nearly three thousand 
persons in the body of the building. 

The meeting was addressed by Dillon, Doheny and Meagher, and also 
by two patriotic Dublin priests, Dr. O'Carroll and Father Meehan, both of 
whom eloquently defended the Young Irelanders and the Nation from the 
charge of indifference in religion so malevolently preferred against them. 

Meagher, in the course of his address, jocularly reminded the Remon- 
strants that, in the contumely with which they were treated, by the new 
Dictator of Conciliation Hall and his obseqious henchmen, they only partici- 
pated in a system of equally unjustifiable insults offered their compatriots 
throughout the country by the same disreputable shams. He gave a few 
instances of their arrogance : — 

"Three Repeal Wardens in Cappoquin wrote to Mr. Ray that they had 
abandoned all hope of reconciliation in consequence of the language used by 
Mr. OX'onnell towards Mr. Smith O'Brien. Mr. Ray assured them of the delight 



THE IBISH CONFEDEBATION. 



of the Association in parting with men who unquestionably contemplated a 

resort to arms. 

" ' I am for freedom of discussion,' says Sir. Shea Lalor. ' That is 

physical force,' exclaims the Committee. 

•"I am for the publication of the accounts,' intimates Mr. Martin. 'You 

oppose the peace policy,' rejoins Mr. Ray. 

" ' I protest against place-hunting,' writes Mr. Brady, from Cork. ' Sir, 

you contemplate a resort to arms,' rejoins the Secretary from Dublin. 

"He hoped he would be excused for trifling with these subjects, but it 
was as difficult to treat them seriously as to describe a farce with sub- 
limity." 

This meeting made a powerful impression on the country at large, and 
one of the most affected by it was O'Connell himself. The following story 
is reported as coming from an eye-witness to the occurrence: — 

"The morning after the meeting O'Connell sat in his study in Merrion 
Square, the daily papers before him; some friends, lay and clerical around. 
He was depressed. ' Don't mind them, Mr. O'Connell,' said one of these 
friends, 'they are brainless boys — we will crush them.' 'Ah! no, no,' said 
O'Connell, ' they are a powerful party, and we must have them back.' One 
of the friends was Sir Colman O'Loghlan. He seized O'Connell's hand, ' Com- 
mission! me,' said he, ' to say that to Smith O'Brien.' ' I do,' said O'Connell. 
'Be my ambassador; tell him and his friends to come back on his own 
terms.' Sir Colman delighted, — for he had labored hard to heal the divi- 
sion,— was in the act of leaving, when John O'Connell entered. On being told 
of what occurred, he became much excited and exclaimed in an angry 
tone, ' No, father, we cannot unite with these men ; wretched, ungrateful 
factionists as they are, we will crush them.' Poor O'Connell was prostrated, 
he looked at his son, then at Sir Colman, and addressing the latter, said: 
'You see, Sir Colman, I am powerless; there is my best beloved son; you 
hear what he has said ; nothing can now be done.' " 

And nothing was done, then, or subsequently, towards uniting the sev- 
ered ranks on an honorable basis, though attempts were made to detach 
Meagher from his associates, O'Connell himself writing a personal letter 
inviting him back to the Association. Meagher respectfully declined the invi- 
tation; stating that, as he did not agree with the means by which the 
Association proposed to achieve the independence of Ireland, he felt it would 
be acting a hypocritical part to join a body in the utility of which he had 
no trust. 

The immediate effect of the Rotunda meeting on the public opinion of 
the country, and more especially on those who sympathized with the principles 



76 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

of the Young Irelanders, convinced the latter that it was advisable to form 
a permanent Association in which every true Irishman could unite for the 
ultimate achievement of their country's independence, and the salvation of 
her people from the horrible fate that immediately threatened them. 

Accordingly, an aggregate meeting was convened at the Rotunda on the 
13th of January, 1847, and thereat was founded the Irish Confederation. 



CHAPTER XV. 

1847. 

THE IRISH CONFEDERATION. — THE FAMINE. 

The first meeting of the new Association was presided over by John 
Shea Lalor. John Dillon and Charles G.ivan Duffy were the honorary Secre- 
taries. The speakers were William Smith O'Brien, M. J. Barry, Richard 
O'Gorman, Jun., John Mitchel, Francis Comyn, T. F. Meagher, Michael 
Doheny, John Martin, T. D. Magee, James Haughton, and Mr. Kelly. 

The speeches were characterized by a spirit of amity and generous for- 
bearance befitting men whose object was to unite many, hitherto hostile 
classes into an earnest effort for the restoration of their country's nationality. 
There were no attacks on any party. The rules had been carefully prepared, 
and submitted to an eminent legal authority — Jonathan Henn, Q. C, — who 
pronounced them to be legal and sufficient. They were embodied in the 
following 

RESOLUTIONS : 

u lst. — That Domestic Legislation is now, and it has been for forty-six 
years, the great and urgent want, as well as the inalienable right, of the 
Irish Nation; and that the helpless and dependent condition of Ireland under 
the calamity of this present season has made that necessity more apparent 
and more imperative. 

"2nd. — That circumstances having rendered it impossible for us to coop- 
erate as members with the existing Association, which was instituted to 
•eek this great national object, it becomes our duty to make for ourselves 



THE IRISH CONFEDERATION.— THE FAMINE. 77 

a separate sphere of activity in which we may humbly strive for our coun- 
try's independence in the way that seems to us best suited to attain it. 
But we desire to have it clearly understood that in taking this step we 
disclaim all antagonism to the Association already in existence, to which 
we wish success in every honest effort it may make in furtherance of 
Repeal. 

*' 3d. — That a society be now formed under the title of ' The Irish 
Confederation,' for the purpose of protecting our national interests, and 
obtaining the Legislative independence of Ireland, by the force of opinion, 
by the combination of all classes of Irishmen, and by the exercise of all 
the political, social, and moral influences within our reach. 

"4th. — That a Council be appointed, to be called the 'Council of the 
Irish Confederation,' to conduct the business and promote the objects of the 
Society; to consist of the undermentioned gentlemen as original members, 
with power to add to their numbers. This Council to be empowered to 
make By-Laws, to admit members, and to call general meetings of the 
Society at such periods as shall seem expedient. 

Proposed Council. 

William Smith O'Brien, M. P. Richard O'Gorman, Jr., barrister. 

John Shea Lalor, J. P., Gurteenroe. P. Murphy, M. D., Liverpool. 

John B. Dillon, barrister. Michael Doheny, barrister. 

Francis Comyn, J. P., Woodstock. James Cantwell. 

John E. Pigot, barrister. Joseph Duffy, M. D., Finglas. 

Eobert Orr, Bray Lodge. T. B. McManus, Liverpool. 

John Mitchel. Michael Crean. 
Luke Shea, J. P., the Kennies, Co. Cork. Michael R. O'Farrell, barrister. 

Robert Cane, M. D., J. P., Kilkenny. Martin McDermott, architect. 

Charles Gavan Duffy, T. C, barrister. C. H. West, M. D. 

Wm. Bryan, Raheny Lodge. James Keely. 

James Haughton, merchant. Isaac Varian, Cork. 

Richard O'Gorman, Sen., merchant. D. F. McCarthy, barrister. 

Denny Lane, barrister, Cork. P. J. Smith, Kilmainham. 

Edward F. Murray, C. E., London. Charles Taaffe, barrister. 

Thomas F. Meagher, Waterford. Thomas Devin Reilly. 

John Martin, Lougherne. T. D. McGee. 

M. J. Barry, barrister. Patrick O'Donohue. 

George Smith, Liverpool. J. Gilligan, late Inspector of Dublin Re- 
P. Brady, T. C, Cork. peal Wardens. 

Nicholas Harding. 



78 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

"5th. — That the basis and essence of the 'Irish Confederation' shall be 
absolute independence of all English parties; and that any member of the 
Council accepting or soliciting for himself or others, an office of emolu- 
ment under any Government not pledged to effect Eepeal of the Union, 
Shall thereupon be removed from the Council. 

"6th. — That inasmuch as the essential bond of union amongst us is 
the assertion of Ireland's right to an Independent Legislature, no mem- 
ber of the ' Irish Confederation ' shall be bound to the adoption of any 
principle involved in any resolution, or promulgated by any speaker in the 
Society, or any journal advocating its policy, to which he has not given 
his special consent, save only the foregoing fundamental principles of the 
Society. 

«7th. — That no subscription shall be demanded from any. person on 
being enrolled a member of ' The Irish Confederation ; ' but to defray the 
expenses incurred by the operations of the Society, voluntary subscriptions 
of any amount will be received. 

"8th. — That all expenditure shall be made under the sanction of the 
Council; before whom a weekly abstract of the accounts shall be laid; and 
that the treasurers shall publish, every six months, the state of the accounts 
duly audited by auditors to be appointed by the Council; and Richard 
O'Gorman, Sen., and James Haughton, Esqs., are hereby appointed joint 
Treasurers of the Confederation for one year. 

"9th. — That we regard the measures adopted by the present Govern- 
ment to meet the unprecedented calamity which has visited this country as 
ill-advised and insufficient, and that it be an instruction from this meeting 
to the Council now formed to apply their immediate attention to this para- 
mount object. 

The new Association applied itself earnestly to the work set forth in 
the foregoing resolutions. The young men, on whom the principal labor 
fell, had an arduous task to encounter. In face of the terrible calamity that 
devastated the island, the heart and intellect of the people seemed alike 
paralyzed. They had become emaciated in soul as well as body. The fearful 
alternative of starving in their foodless homes, perishing with fever in a hut 
by the ditch-side, or, (most dreaded fate of all,) entering, for the sake of 
their helpless families, the detested "Pauper Bastiles," where every drop of 
manly blood, and every pulse of manly feeling, was eliminated by watery 
Indian-meal-gruel, almost banished from their recollections the lessons of 
morality and self-restraint inculcated by Father Mathew, and the hopeful 
spirit of manly self-reliance instilled in their souls by the inspired teachings 
of Thomas Davis. 



THE IRISH CONFEDEBATION.— THE FAMINE. 79 

To rekindle this flickering flame of nationality was the first care, as it 
was the great hope of this gallant band of Confessors of Liberty, and nobly 
did they perform their self-imposed task. L\ the course of that " Year of 
Desolation " they established " Confederate Clubs " in every locality through- 
out the country where a "color-guard" was still left to rally their despair- 
ing comrades around the " Old Flag." Over ten thousand devoted men were 
thus enrolled, — the flower of their race, young, intelligent, courageous, and 
enthusiastic. If it was not within the bounds of possibility for this " little 
leaven " to " leaven the whole lump," in the limited time allotted them before 
the test of manhood was forced upon the sadly wasted though convalescing 
nation, they, at least, awoke their Motherland from her death-like trance, 
and kept the sacred fire of nationality still burning, as a signal and encour- 
agement to future generations of Irishmen never to despair of their country's 
vitality and recuperative powers, no matter how low she might be sunk: 
for, surely to no such depth of degradation and debasement can the nation 
ever again descend as that from which she was lifted through Divine Prov- 
idence by the chivalrous exertions of her loving sons in that period of abject 
terror and inexpressible suffering; — of indomitable courage, calm resolution, 
and glorious self-sacrifice. 

The first and paramount duty devolving upon all Irishmen at this crisis 
was to take measures to preserve the lives of the helpless people. For the 
attainment of this end the new organization solicited the cooperation of every 
section irrespective of politics or creed, the landlords, the middle-class, the 
young Conservatives, the Ulster Presbyterians; the representatives of Irish 
literature ; and, above all, of the great body of the people themselves, — 
those who were most interested in the work, and on whom the chief portion 
thereof was to fall. 

But they were most inadequately supported; the spirits of greed and 
intolerance thwarted their efforts. The landlords, who were primarily respon- 
sible for the protection of the people from whom they drew their income, 
were, after evading their duty for month after month, eventually shamed 
into holding a conference in Dublin to concert such measures for the public 
safety as the occasion demanded. 

The conference consisted of nearly twenty peers, thirty members of Par- 
liament, and over six hundred other gentlemen of station representing the 
rank and wealth of the country, and embracing men of diverse creeds and 
parties. " The chair was taken by the Marquis of Ormonde, the first resolu- 
tion was moved by George A. Hamilton, and seconded by O'Connell; the last 
resolution was moved by James H. Hamilton, and seconded by Smith O'Brien. 



80 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

In all thirty-six distinct propositions were agreed to without division or 
discussion/' 

It was hoped that, at length, an Irish party, independent of English 
interests and factions, was formed to take counsel together on Irish 
questions. But it eventually turned out that the Irish landlords were not 
sincere in their professions, and only looked to their own special interests, 
for many of them in the English Parliament ignored the measures they 
approved of in the conference, and voted against propositions of a similar 
character. They shifted their own responsibility for the lives of the Irish 
people on the English Government, and meantime, gave instructions to 
their agents to press for their rents, see that the harvest was exported to 
England, and its producers cleared off their estates with all possible dispatch; 
for the English Government had flatly refused to agree to the proposition 
of its Irish garrison — that the famine should be treated as an imperial 
calamity. Their fiat was that the Irish, — landlords and tenants, — should 
bear the burthen between them. Mr. Roebuck, a Radical English member, 
for once agreed with a majority of his fellow-legislators, when he said: 
"Parliament, for three hundred years, has been legislating against the Irish 
people in the interest of the Irish landlords. His verdict was, if the landlords 
were willing to maintain the poor on their estates, let them remain; if not, let 
them be swept away." 

Roebuck's verdict was that of the English Government. On the resources 
provided by the Irish Poor Laws, .the lives of the people were doomed to de- 
pend. Half the poor-rate fell on the landlord, and half on the occupier; and, 
as the former had the power of lessening the burthen by clearing the needy 
off his estates, he, in most instances, availed himself thereof to the fullest 
extent. The result of this cooperation of the Government and "garrison," 
was, that it fulfilled the estimate calculated on by the Cabinet Ministers, on 
the reports of their Relief Committees — namely, that, "within the space of 
one year, two million of the Irish people would die of hunger, and disease arising 
from hunger. 

Think of it, men of the Irish race. Two million of your kindred deliber- 
erately murdered in cold blood, in one year; then imagine, — if you can, — what 
must be the feelings of the men whose lives were devoted to the salva- 
tion of their people and the regeneration of their country, on being compelled 
to witness the daily progress of this destruction of their hopes — in all its 
soul-sickening details. 

And, if anything were wanted to aggravate their impotent rage against 
the murderers, it was furnished by finding them supported in their hellish 
policy by the votes of mercenary traitors, foisted upon Irish constituencies, 



JJISVUSSINd THE SITUATION. 81 

under the garb of honest men, pledged to the restoration of their country's 
legislative independence. 

Pondering on these things, is it any wonder that earnest men were 
driven to despair of saving the remnant of their people, by the constitu- 
tional methods hitherto found inadequate, and, in their extremity, led to 
seek any possible remedy for the fell disease under which the nation's life 
was surely and swiftly ebbing away? 

In this position the Irish Confederation found itself at the end of the 
first year of its existence. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

DISCUSSING THE SITUATION. — CHAELES GAVAN DUFFY ON PAR- 
LIAMENTARY OBSTRUCTION. — JOHN MITQHEL FQ-tt 
STERNER MEASURES. 

To concert some feasible plan by which to stem the tide of destruction 
that threatened to ovewhelm the island, the Council of the Confederation 
held many anxious meetings. 

Eventually Mr. Duffy was instructed to prepare a Report that would out- 
line their future action in dealing not only with the present emergency, but 
with the only remedy for the paralized nation — the restoration of her Leg- 
islative independence. 

This was done, and, at a full meeting of the Council the Report was 
earnestly discussed. 

Among its most important provisions, it recommended " the election to 
Parliament of a band of resolute and capable men who, by demonstrating 
the justice of our national claims would probably win converts among rea- 
sonable Englishmen, but, at any rate, would cause them to be listened to, 
by making Irish interests cross, and impede, and rule the British Senate. For it 
teas not by Parliament, but in spite of it — not by its grace and influence, but 
because of its utter imbecility against the right vigorously asserted, that they would 
succeed.' 1 '' 

Here we find, clearly set forth the policy of "Parliamentary obstruction," 
which the Home Rule members adopted five-and-thiry years later. 

In continuation of the subject Mr. Duffy's Report says: — 



82 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

"When the representatives in Parliament had made the cause plain to- 
all men, and when the organization at home had been so successful as to 
raise those representatives to the undeniable position of the spokesmen of 
a nation, it would be their right and duty (as it is demonstrably within 
their power) to stop the entire business of Parliament till the constitution 
of Ireland was restored. But this is a measure which, to be successful, 
must be taken on behalf of a nation. It must have the authority of an 
outraged nation to justify it, and raise it above the tactics of mere party 
conflict; and the strength of a banded nation to maintain it, if it be vio- 
lently suppressed. For from such a position there seems but two paths: 
that of concession to Ireland, or the forcible expulsion of the Irish repre- 
sentatives from the House of Commons." 

The policy embodied in this report was not approved of by John Mitchel, 
in as much as it did not tend to any immediate amelioration of the people' s- 
condition, or any cessation of the system under which the life stream of the 
nation was steadily ebbing away. Both in the Council of the Confederation 
and in the columns of the Nation he advocated the abandonment of consti- 
tutional agitation, and the adoption of other methods more suited to the 
desperate condition of the country. But the particular measure he proposed 
in the Council as an alternative to Mr. Duffy's Report, was rejected, as 
being impracticable, by the great majority of his colleagues, and Mr. Duffy's 
report was adopted. Mr. Mitchel's articles on the subject in the Nation being 
diametrically opposed to the opinions of the editor and proprietor, Mr. Dully, 
the former and his friend Devin Reilly, who coincided in his opinions, with- 
drew from the paper, and a month latter founded a new journal of their 
own— "The United Irishman!" 

In the meantime the question at issue wa3 laid before the Confederate 
Clubs in the provincial towns, and they unanimously coincided with the ma- 
jority of the Council; for, much as they would wish to adopt Mr. Mitchel's 
project, their reason rejected it as being not only impracticable as against 
the common enemy, but as being certain of meeting the opposition of the 
great majority of the people, who, at that time, knew but very little of 
Mr. Mitchel. 

Meagher, in a letter to Smith O'Brien on the subject, intuitively gave 
expression to the sentiments of his Minister compatriots : — 

"I feel — in my soul I believe — that an unconstitutional mode of action 
would not in present circumstances, succeed. I am convinced that the only 
mode we can adopt, the only policy which we can successfully conduct — 
is the constitutional policy advised by Duffy. And yet, when I see the 
tyrannical spirit of the upper classes, the Government, the -Parliament ; when 



PABLIAKENTAET OBSTBUCTIOV. 83 

I mark the glee with which they hail the coercion measures now in force; 
when (as is the case in this county,) I find the most peaceful districts in 
Ii eland proclaimed, and have in our very streets and the roads close to the 
town the most insolent parade of artillery and police and dragoons ; when 
I see all this, and observe, moreover, not the least change of spirit among 
the gentry — no generous national sentiment striving among them — but on the 
contrary a vile thankfulness to that country for its ' protection,' which last 
year cuffed and spat upon them: when I see all this, my heart sinks under 
a weight of bitter thoughts, and I am almost diiven to the conclusion that 
it would be better to risk all, to make a desperate effort, and fix at once 
the fate of Ireland." 

On their retirement from the Nation, Messrs. Mitchel and Reilly published 
letters enunciating doctrines which, in Smith O'Brien's opinion, were diamet- 
rically opposed to the fundamental principles of the Confederation, in as 
much as '• they proposed to render that body unfit for any but insurrection- 
ary purposes." As the time for the annual election of the Council of the 
Confederation was nearly at hand, Mr. O'Brien deemed it a proper occasion 
on which the Confederates should decide on the course of action they 
should adopt. He accordingly prepared a series of resolutions which, with 
the full knowledge of the existing Council, he proposed submitting to the 
public meeting. 

The gist of these resolutions may be embodied in the following para- 
graph : — 

"That this Confederation was established to attain an Irish Parliament 
by the combination of classes and by the force of opinion, exercised in 
constitutional operations, and that no means of a contrary character can be 
recommended or promoted through its organization while its present funda- 
mental rules remain unaltered." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

DEBATE ON SMITH O'BRIEN'S RESOLUTIONS IN THE IRISH CON- 
FEDERATION. — ME 4GHER'S SPEECH. 

ON Wednesday, February 2nd, 1848, at a special meeting of the Irish 
Confederation, Smith O'Brien introduced the series of resolutions referred 
to in the preceding chapter, and moved their adoption in a lengthy speech, 



84 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

in which he referred to the published letters of Messrs. Mitchel and Reilly 
as being a breach of the fundamental rules of the Confederation. 

Mr. John A. Pigot seconded the resolutions.* 

Mr. Mitchel, in defending the course he had taken, moved the follow- 
ing amendment: — 

"That this Confederation do not feel called upon to pronounce either a 
condemnation or approval of any doctrine promulgated by any of its members 
by letters, speeches, or otherwise, because the seventh fundamental rule of 
the Confederation expressly provides : " That, in as much as the essential 
bond of union amongst us is the assertion of Ireland's right to an indepen- 
dent legislature, no member of the Irish Confederation shall be bound to 
the adoption of any principle involved in any resolution, or promulgated by 
any speaker in the Society or any journal advocating its policy, to which 
he has not given his special consent, save only the .foregoing fundamental 
principles of the Society." 

Mr. Thomas Devin Deilly seconded the amendment. 

The debate which followed was continued for three successive days, and 
was conducted with perfect order, good humor and courtesy; in a spirit of 
fair play, and in a sober and temperate tone. Nearly all the most conspic- 
uous members of the Confederation took part in the debate. Those who 
spoke in favor of Mr. O'Brien's resolutions including John B. Dillon, Charles 
Gavan Duffy, Michael Doheny, Richard O'Gorman, Jr"., John Williams, Thomas 
Francis Meagher, Thomas Darcy McGee, and Patrick J. Smyth. 

Mr. Mitchel's amendment was supported by Thomas Devin Reilly, Eugene 
O'Reilly, Andrew English and John Fisher Murray. John Martin being 
chairman, was precluded from participating in the debate, but, in a letter 
written to the United Irishman on the week following, he fully identified 
himself with Mr. Mitchel's views. 

At two o'clock on Friday morning, the debate was brought to a close, 



•John Edward Pigot was the son of Chief Baron Pigot, and one of the earliest 
and most enthusiastic workera In the new national party who had the credit of bringing a 
'Soul into Ireland." He was one of Thomas Davis's most intimate friends and associates. 
Like Davis, he was a forcible and graceful writer, but no platform orator; his speech in 
seconding Mr O'Brien's resolutions on the above occasion being the only one he ever 
delivered In public. He was one of the earliest poetical writers for the Nation. Under 
the nom de plume of " Febmot," he contributed that spirited lyric — "The Song of The 
United Irishmen! " — which became exceedingly popular at the time, and which is, in fact> 
the best of the many national songs written to the same favarlte air — "The Wearing of 
the Green 1" 



DEBATE ON SMITH O'BRIEN'S BE SOLUTIONS. S» 

and a vote being taken on Mr. Mitchel's amendment, it was rejected by a 
majority of 129. 

Mr. O'Brien's resolutions were then put, and declared by the Chairman 
to be carried without a division. 

Mr. Meagher was not present during the first two days of the debate, 
and one of the speakers, Mr. John Fisher Murray, — a clever and versatile 
writer in prose and verse, but a novice in practical Irish politics, and some- 
what erratic in his ideas and manner of expression — noticing the young 
orator's absence, melo-dramatically asked : " Where is the ' Man of the 
Sword?'" supplementing the query by announcing that, u for his part, he 
was the 'Man of the Umbrella,' " (which article he flourished vigorously above 
his head, to the amusement of even the most serious portion of the spec- 
tators). Meagher, who had only returned that morning from England, on 
presenting himself at the meeting, was informed by some humorous friend 
of the ludicrous incident of the previous day, and, in the opening of his 
address, took occasion to reply seriously to Mr. Fisher's enquiry as to his 
whereabouts, for, after announcing that, "as he had only returned that 
morning from England, he found himself engaged in the debate quite unex- 
pectedly," he proceeded to say : — 

MR. MEAGHER'S SPEECH, 

(Feb. 4th, 1848.) 

"My presence here this evening will release me from that questionable 
position in which my absence may, perhaps, have placed me, and will serve 
as an answer to those suspicious questions which, I understand, were asked 
about me, upon this platform, last night. (Loud cries of ' hear, hear.') I 
have been told that it was sneeringly asked — ' Where is Mr. Meagher of 
the Sword?' as if I was shrinking from this discussion. Mr. Meagher is 
where he has always been — ever since the Confederation was founded — at 
his post — prepared to state his opinions, and to abide by them. 

"No, sir, I had no intention to shirk this question. From my first 
appearance in public life down to the present moment, I believe, I have 
always acted with perfect candor, and whenever it was required, I am sure 
I never refrained from giving the fullest expression to these opinions which 
I might have had the good sense or the folly to entertain. And, certainly, 
upon this question — involving as it does, the existence of the Confederation 
— I had no notion of playing the truant's part. They who do not know me 
might have thought so. 

"Now to the question, and in coming to it, I sincerely express the 



86 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

same feelings to which Mr. Reilly has given utterance. I trust that we 
who are about to conclude may not, by any mishap, disturb the good feel- 
ings that have prevailed all through this discussion: and I fervently pray 
that in this conflict of opinions we shall preserve those feelings which have 
so long united us in a sincere and devoted companionship. And here I will 
remark that my friend, Mr. Mitchel — whom I shall never cease to trust 
and admire — has brought the real question at issue, most conveniently for 
me, into the smallest possible space. ' The real question,* he says, ' which 
we have to decide is, whether we have to keep the constitutional and par- 
liamentary agitation or not? — for my part,' (he adds,) 'I am weary of this 
constitutional agitation.' 

"Now, that is precisely the question, and most neatly reduced to a 
nutshell. You have to decide whether this constitutional agitation is to be 
given up or uot. You are to say whether you, too, are weary of it or not. 
Previous, however, to our going into the merits of this constitutional agita- 
tion, I think that upon one point we are quite agreed — quite agreed that, 
whatever policy we may adopt, all this vague talk should cease with which 
your ears have been vexed for so long a period. All this vague talk about 
a crisis is at hand — shouts of defiance — Louis Phillippe is upwards of sev- 
enty—France remembers "Waterloo — the first gun fired in Europe — all this 
obscure babble — all this meaningless mysticism — must be swept away. Ten 
thousand guns fired in Europe would announce no glad tidings to you if 
their lightning flashed upon you in a state of disorganization and incerti- 
tude. 

"Sir, I know of no nation that has won its independence by an acci- 
dent. Trust blindly to the future — wait for 'the tide in the affairs of men, 
which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ' — envelope yourselves in mist 

— leave everything to chance, and be assured of this, the most propitious 
opportunities will rise and pass away, leaving you still to chance — masters of 
no weapons — scholars of no science — incompetent to decide — irresolute to 
act — powerless to achieve. This was the great error of the Repeal Associa- 
tion. From a labyrinth of difficulties there was no avenue opeu to success. 
The people were kept within this labyrinth — they moved round and round 

— backwards and forwards — there was perpetual motion but no advance. In 
this bewilderment are you content to wander until a sign appears in Hea- 
ven, and the mystery is disentangled by a miracle? Have you no clear 
intelligence to direct you to the right path, and do you fear to trust your 
footsteps to the guidance of that mind with which you have been gifted: 
Do you prefer to substitute a driftless superstition in place of a* determined 
system — groping and fumbling after possibilities, instead of seizing the 



MB. MEAGHER'S SPEECH. 87 

agencies within your reach? This, indeed, would be a blind renunciation of 
your powers, and thus, indeed, the virtue you prize so justly — the virtue of 
self-reliance — would be extinguished in you. To this you will not consent. 
You have too sure a confidence in the resources you possess to leave to 
chance what you can accomplish by design. 

"A deliberate plan of action is then essential — something positive — 
something definite. This you require, and upon this you have this night to 
determine. From what suggestions, then, are we to shape our course? Is 
it not come to this, that we have to choose between a constitutional policy 
and an insurrection? Is an insurrection probable? If piobable, is it prac- 
ticable? Prove to me that it is, and I for one will vote for it this very 
night. 

"You know well, my friends, that I am not one of these tame moral- 
ists who say that liberty is not worth a drop of blood. Men who subscribe 
to such a maxim are fit for out-door relief, and for nothing better. Against 
this miserable maxim the noblest virtue that has served and sanctified human- 
ity appears in judgment. From the blue waters of the bay of Salatnis — 
from the valley over which the sun stood still and lit the Israelite to victory 
— from the cathedral in which the sword of Poland has been sheathed in 
the shroud of Kosciusco — f rom the convent of St. Isidore, where the fiery 
hand that rent the ensign of St. George upon the plains of Ulster has 
crumbled into dust — from the sands of the desert, where the wild genius 
of the Algerine so long has scared the eagle of the Pyranees — f rom the ducal 
palace in this kingdom, where the memory of the gallant and seditious 
Geraldine enhances, more than royal favor, the nobility of his race — from 
the solitary grave which, within this mute city, a dying request has left 
without an epitaph — Oh ! from every spot where heroism has had its sacri- 
fice, or its triumph, a voice breaks in upon the cringing crowds that cheer 
this wretched maxim, crying out ' Away with it, away with it.' Would to 
God, sir, that we could take every barrack in the island this night, and with 
our blood purchase the independence of the country. 

It is not then a pedantic reverence for common law — it is not a sense- 
less devotion to a diadem and sceptre — it is not a whining solicitude for 
the preservation of the species — that dictates the vote I give this night in 
favor of a constitutional movement. I support this constitutional policy not 
from choice, but from necessity. My strongest feelings are in favor of the 
policy advised by Mr. Mitchel. I wish to God I could defend that policy. 
It is a policy which calls forth the noblest passious — it kindles genius, gen- 
erosity, heroism — it is far removed from the tricks and crimes of politics 



88 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

— for the young, the gallant, and the good, it has the most powerful attrac- 
tion?. 

"In the history of this kingdom the names that burn above the dust 
and desolation of the past — like the lamps in the old sepulchres of Rome 

— shed their glory round the principles of which a deep conviction of our 
weakness compels me this night to be the opponent. And in being theii 
opponent, I almost blush to think that the voice of one whose influence is 
felt through this struggle more powerfully than any other — one who unites 
the genius of Madame Roland with the heroism of the Maid of Orleans, 
and whose noble lyrics will bid this cause to live forever — I almost blush to 
think that this voice which speaks to us in these glorious lines — 

•And the beckoning angels win you on, with many a radiant vision, 
Up the thorny path to glory, where man receives his crown' — 

should be disobeyed, and that, for a time at least, we must plod on in tin 
old course, until we acquire strength, and discipline, and skill — discipline to 
steady, skill to direct, strength to enforce the claim of a united nation." 

Mr. Meagher here referred in detail to the unsurmoun table obstacles 
which an immediate insurrection would have to encounter, and the conflict 
of classes which it was sure to engender, and concluded as follows : — 

" So much for the war of classes. No ; I am not for a democratic, but 
I am for a national movement — not for a movement like that of Paris in 
1793, but for a movement like that of Brussels in 1830, — like that of Pa- 
lermo in 1848.* If you think differently say so. If you are weary of this 
constitutional movement — if you despair of this " combination of classes " — 
declare so boldly, and let this night terminate the career of the Irish Con- 
federation. 

"Yet, upon the brink of this abyss, listen for a moment to the voice 
that speaks to you from the vaults of Mount St. Jerome; and if you dis- 
trust the advice of the friend who now addresses you — one who has done 
something to assist you, and who, I believe has not been unfaithful to you 
in some moments of difficulty, and perhaps of danger — if you do not trust 
me, listen, at least, to the voice of one who has been carried to his grave 
amid the tears and prayer3 of all classes of his countrymen, and of whos« 
courage and whose truth there has never yet been uttered the slightest 
doubt: — 'Be bold, but wise — be brave, but sober — patient, earnest, striving 
and untiring. You have sworn to be temperate for your comfort here and 



•The Revolut'.on In Palermo had occuned a fortnight before. 



THE WATERFORD ELECTION. 89 

your well-being hereaiter. Be temperate now for the honor, the happiness, 
the immortality of your country — act trustfully and truthfully to one ano- 
ther — watch, wait, and leave the rest to God.' " 

With this noble adjuration of Thomas Davis, Meagher concluded the last 
"constitutional" speech he was ever to deliver before the Irish Confedera- 
tion, and the last, but one, he was destined to deliver in Ireland. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE WATERFORD ELECTION, 1848. 

At the time the debate on the policy of the Irish Confederation was 
taking place in Dublin, Daniel O'Connell, Jr., Member of Parliament for the 
city of Waterford, resigned his seat for the purpose of accepting the position 
of British Consul to Boulogne. 

Conciliation Hall selected as its candidate for the vacant seat, Patrick 
Costello, a retired Kilkenny attorney, who, for several years, had held a 
sinecure office under the Whigs with a stipend of £800 a year. Meaghei 
being determined that his native city should no longer be a nursery for 
place-hunting hypocrites, evinced an inclination of contesting the seat in 
person, and, as a parliamentary party was a part of the Confederate plan, 
his colleagues entered ardently into his views, and between them contributed 
the necessary funds for the expenses of the contest. 

Meagher's father was, at that time, the senior member for Waterford. 
He was a most indulgent parent, and supplied his son liberally with the 
means of upholding his position in society. But being a confirmed " Old 
Irelander," he would not give the young orator any support or encourage- 
ment in his effort to become his colleague in the House of Commons. 
Eventually, he threw the weight of his influence in favor of the Concilia- 
tion Hall candidate. But, in thus preferring public principle to private 
feelings, he was only following his son's example at the time of his own 
election the year before, when, because he refused to take the pledge " not 
to solicit or accept office from any English administration," in accordance 
with the principles of the Confederation, the heir of his house and name 
refrained from voting for him. But these political differences between the 



*0 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

lather and son never tended towards lessening the mutual affection and 
•esteem which they entertained for one another through life. 

Previous to the nomination-day, it became known that a third candidate 
was about to present himself for the honor of representing the " Urbs Intacta.^ 
This was Sir Henry Winston Barron, an old-time politician of Whiggish pro- 
clivities, who had previously represented the city as a Eepealer, and while 
so doing made the most of his opportunities to secure lucrative positions for 
his "long-tailed family." Thus, he had a brother an Assistant Barister, two 
cousins Stipendiary Magistrates, another cousin Assistant Poor Law Commis- 
sioner, and a son Attache to the British Embassy at Turin. His family 
occupied a prominent position among the local Catholic gentry for genera- 
tions past, and though, as a fossilized old fogv, he had almost faded from 
sight in modern politics, he relied on the division in the popular ranks to 
work his way, with the help of the Conservatives, into Parliament once 
more, and accordingly, he entered the lists as an "Independent Repealer.'* (?) 

Never, since the great Waterford election of 1826, did any parliamentary 
contest evoke such excitement in the "city by the Suir," as that of 1848. 
But the circumstances in these eventful contests were essentially different in 
many respects. In the first instance, the popular candidate. — though opposed 
to a powerful and long-dominant faction — backed by three-fourths of the 
landlord class, — had the united support of the Catholic Clergy, and of the 
great mass of the " Forty-Shilling Freeholders,"' who fairly represented the 
manhood of the county. On the other hand, the city of Waterford, in 1S48, 
with a population of about 28,000, had only about 700 entitled to the fran- 
chise—or one voter to forty inhabitants. A considerable percentage of this 
constituency were Conservatives in principle; an equal number were either 
old-time followers of O'Connell and still attached to his principles, or bona- 
fide Whigs — ever ready to serve their personal interests at the expense of 
country or principle; the balance were thorough-going nationalists — most of 
them personal friends of their young townsman; who, in addition, had the 
support — moral and physical — of the unfranchised populace. The local Con- 
servative paper, the Waterford Mail, on the week before the election, thus 
describes the state of affairs : — # 

"Considerable excitement prevails throughout the city, in consequence of 
the hostile appearance manifested by the supporters of the "Young" and 
"Old Ireland" parties. The military and police are on constant patrol 
through the streets. Sir Charles O'Donnell has arrived in town from Dun- 
garvan, to attend during the election. The Conciliation Hall Repealers, 
represented by the Carrick boatmen, show a pugnacious front, but the Young 
[relanders appear as determined as they are, and better able to maintain 



MB. MEAGHER'S SPEECH. 91 

their ground. The ensuing election has every appearance of heing a stormy 
one. and the indications of defeat on the part of the Conciliation Hall 
clique are strikingly manifest. The feeling exhibited against them as a body 
of shave-beggars, place-hunting, and place-accepting, is most effectively dis- 
played. Their competitors, from their honest enthusiasm, and manly bearing, 
have caused the current to flow in their favor. To the present everything 
appears on Mr. Meagher's side." 

This was written before Barron put in an appearance and complicated 
the situation. The " Carrick Boatmen" — then the stalwart physical support- 
ers of the "Moral Force" party, in a few months subsequently, proved 
themselves to be the foremost, bravest, and most devoted Kevolutionists in 
Ireland, as will be shown by Meagher's own testimony. 

In a letter to Mr. Duffy, reporting the progress of his canvass, Meagher 
writes : — 

"Everything goes on splendidly. A glorious canvass to-day! All the 
people — emphatically the people — and the girls, and the women. My God ! 
I can hardly believe my senses! If Sir Henry Barron will not stand, my 
return (I could almost swear to) is certain." 

On Saturday, February 19th, the contest commenced. The three candi- 
dates were duly proposed and seconded — in speeches not particularly distin- 
guished for originality, save that of the seconder of Mr. Costello, (a local 
friar,) which won for the speaker the reputation of being the most aggres- 
sive member of the Church Militant, and the least fastidious in his choice 
of wordy weapons, that ever confronted an opponent on an Irish hustings. 

The candidates then addressed the meeting, Meagher spoke last. I copy 
the report of his speech verbatim as it appeared in the Waterford Mail and 
Freeman. 

MPt. MEAGHER'S SPEECH. 
(Feb. 19th, 1848.) 

"Mr. T. F. Meagher then rose, and for several minutes was received 
with the most enthusiastic and deafening cheers, waving of hats and hand- 
kerchiefs, and every possible mark of respect and enthusiasm. When silence 
was obtained, he proceeded to speak as follows: — 

"Mr. Sheriff and Gentlemen, — I stand before you convicted of a most 
henious crime. I have claimed the representation of my native city, and I 
have claimed it with an effrontery which can never be forgiven — I, who 
have sought to precipitate this country into the red torrent of insurrection! 
I, who have defamed the clergy of the people, and in the assemblies of 
the people have abjured the creed and worship of my fathers— I who have 



S3 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

stretched out my treacherous hand to the Orangemen of Ulster, and, from 
that spot where the banner of King James was rent by the sword of "Wil- 
liam, have passionately prayed for the extinction of those feuds which have 
been transmitted to us through the rancorous blood of five generations — 
I, who have presumed to say that the God, by whose will I breathe, has 
given me a mind that should not cringe and crawl along the earth, but 
should expand and soar, and, in the rapture of its free will, should exult- 
ingly pursue its own career — I, who have dared to assert the freedom of 
this mind, and ambitious to preserve in it the charter and inheritance I 
had from heaven, disdained to be the slave of one whom, were it not an 
impious perversion of the noblest gift of God it might have been no igno- 
miny to serve — I, who have rushed through this career of criminality — 
hissed and hooted by the intelligence, the virtue, the respectability of the 
country — lampooned and lacerated by the pens of an elegant, a courageous, 
and an honest press — spurned from the hearse of the Catholic Emancipator, 
and stained with the blood which his retinue, with such a decent resent- 
ment, have drawn from his coffin, and dashed in my face. 

"What, then, inspires me to proceed? 

"Against this sea of troubles, what strength have I to beat my way 
towards that bold headland, upon which I have sworn to plant the flag I 
have rescued from the wreck? Weak, reckless, bewildered youth! — with 
those clouds breaking above my head, — with those cries of vengeance ring- 
ing in my ears — what sign of hope glitters along the waters? 

"There is a sign- of hope, — the people — the people are standing on 
that headland, and they beckon me to advance. Yes, the people are with me 
in this struggle, and it is that gives nerve to my arm, and passion to my 
heart. Whilst they are with me, I will face the worst — I can defy the 
boldest — I may despise the proudest. You, who oppose me, look to the 
generous and impetuous crowd, in the heart of which I was borne to 
the steps of this hall, and tell me, in that crowd do you not find 
some slight apology for the crime of which, in your impartial judgments, I 
stand convicted? Does not that honest thrift, that desperate integrity, that 
precipitate enthusiasm, plead in my defence, and by the decree Of the people 
has not my crime become a virtue? By this decree has not the sentence 
against the culprit, the anarchist, the murderer, been reversed? By this de- 
cree, I say, have not these infamous designations been swept away, and 
here, asserting the independence of the island, shall I not recognize, in the 
justice of the people, their title to accept an eminent responsibility — their 
ability to attain an exalted destination? 

"You say 'no' to all this — you, gentlemen of the corporation and the 



MB. MEAGHER'S SPEECH 93 

Repeal news-room; you say ; no' to all this. Ah! you are driving the old 
coach still. You will not give way to modern improvements — you are behind 
your time most sadly — conservative of error — intolerant of truth. Is it not 
so? Your cry is still the hackneyed cry: "You have differed with O'Connell 
— you have maligned O'Connell." You meet me, gentlemen of the corporation 
and the Repeal news-room — you meet me with these two accusations, and 
to these accusations you require an answer. The answer shall be concise 
and blunt. 

" The first accusation, that I have differed with O'Connell, is honorably 
true. The second accusation, that I have maligned O'Connell, is malignantly 
false. It is quite true that I have differed with Mr. O'Connell, and I glory 
in the act by which I forleited the confidence of slaves, and won the sanc- 
tion of free citizens. I differed with him. and I differed with him because 
1 was conscious of a free soul, and felt that it would be an abdication of 
existence to consign it to captivity. Was this a crime? 

" Do you curse the man who will not barter the priceless jewel of his 
soul? To be your favorite — to win your honors, must I be a slave? What! 
was it for this that you were called forth from the dust upon which you 
trample? What! was it for this you were gifted with eternal strength by 
which you can triumph over the obscurity of a plebeian birth — by which 
you can break through the conceits and laws of fashion— by which yru can 
cope with the craft of the thief and the genius of the tyrant — by which 
you can defy the exactions of penury, and rear a golden prosperity amid 
the gloom of the garret and the pestilence of the poor-house — by which 
you can step from height to height, and shine far above the calamities with 
which you struggled, and from which you sprung — by which you can trav- 
erse the giddy seas, and be a light and glory to the tribes that sit in 
darknes. and the shadow of death — by which you can mount beyond the 
clouds, and sweep the silver fields where the stars fulfil their mysterious 
missions — by which you can gaze, without a shudder, upon the scythe and 
shroud of Death, and seeing the grave opened at your feet, can look beyond 
it, and feel that it is but the narrow passage to a luminous immortality. 
What! was it to cramp, to sell, to play the trickster and the trifler with 
this eternal strength that you were calied forth to walk this sphere — to be, 
for a time, the guest of its bounty and the idolator of its glory. 

" Gentlemen, from this high ground I shall not descend to seek in little 
details the vindication of my difference with Mr. O'Connell. It was my right 
to differ with him if I thought him wrong; and upon that right, in the name 
of truth and freedom, I take my stand. 

i4 Kor is it my intention to touch in the slightest degree upon the other 



94 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

counts in the vehement indictment that has been preferred against me. The 
first count is the only one for which I entertain the least respect, so that 
I deeply sympathize with the reverend gentleman who has taken such pro- 
fane and profitless trouble to provoke me. However, if he really desires that 
I should satisfy him upon these points to which, with such priestly deco- 
rum, he has tediously referred — I may, perhaps, console him by the assur- 
ance that, in the statement of the grounds upon which I seek the represen 
tat ion of this city, that satisfaction may be gained. This statement will be 
very brief. 

"I am an enemy of the Legislative Union — an enemy of that Union in 
every shape and form that it may assume — an enemy of that Union whatever 
blessing it may bring — an enemy of that Union whatever sacrifice its extinct- 
ion jmay require. 

" Maintain the Union, and maintain your btggery. Maintain the Union, and 
maintain your bankruptcy. Maintain the Union, and maintain your famine. 
Tolerate the usurpation which the English parliament has achieved, and you 
tolerate the power in which your resources, your energies, your institutions 
are absorbed — tolerate the rigor of the English Conservatives — their procla- 
mations and state prosecutions — tolerate the English Whigs — their smiles 
and compliments — their liberal appointments and modified coercion bills — 
and you tolerate the two policies through which the governments of Eng- 
land have alternately managed, ruled, and robbed this country. 

" On the morning of the 13th of October, in the year 1172, upon the 
broad waters of our native Sun-, the spears and banners of a royal pirate 
were glittering in the sun. Did the old city of the Ostmen send forth a 
shout of defiance as the splendid pageant moved up the stream, and flung 
its radiance on our walls? No. From these walls no challenge was hurled 
at the foe; but from the Tower of Reginald the grey eye of a stately sol- 
dier glistened as they came, and whilst he waved his hand, and showed the 
keys of the city he had won, the name of Strongbow was heard amidst the 
storm of shouts that rocked the galleys to and fro. He was the first ad_ 
venturer that set his heel on Irish soil in the name of England, and he — 
the sleek, the cautious, and the gallant Strongbow — was the type and her- 
ald of that plague with, which this island has been cursed for seven deso- 
lating centuries. The historian Hollingshed has said of him, that " what he 
could not compass by deeds, he won by good works and gentle speeches." 
Do you not find in this short sentence an exact description of that despotism 
which has held this island from the days of 'Strongbow the archer,' down 
to our own — the days of 'Clarendon, the green crop lecturer?' 

" By force or fraud — by steel or gold — by threat or smile — by liberal 



MR. MEAGHER S SPEECH. 95 

appointments or speedy executions — by gaol deliveries or special commis- 
sions — by dinners in the park or massacres at Clontarf — by the craft of 
the thief or the genius of the tyrant — they have held this island ever since 
that morning in October, 1172 — seducing those whom they could not terrify 
— slaying those whom they could not allure nor intimidate. 

"Thus may the history of the English connection be told — a black, a 
boisterous night, in which there shone but one brief interval of peace and 
■lustre. 

"Friends and foes! — you who cheer and you who hiss me, (cries from 
the Old Ireland party — 'No one hissed you!'') Well, then, you who cheer 
and you who curse me — sons of the soil ! — inheritors of the one destiny I — 
look back to that interval, and, for an instant, contemplate its glory. 

"Repealers of Waterford — you who oppose me — is your resentment to- 
wards me? (great confusion, in which the rest of the sentence was lost.) 
Well, then, is 'Old Ireland' still your cry? Old Ireland, indeed! I am not 
against Old Ireland, but I am against the vices that have made Ireland old. 
The enmity I bear to the Legislative Union is not more bitter than the 
enmity I bear to those practices and passions fiom which that Union derives 
its ruinous vitality. 

"Impatient for the independence of my country — intolerant of every evil 
that averts the blessing — I detest the bigot and despise the place-beggar! 
Whe stands here to bless the bigot or to cheer the place-beggar? They 
are the worst enemies of Ireland. The rancor of the one and the ven- 
ality of the other, constitute the strongest force by which this island is 
fettered in subjection. 

"Down with the bigot! — he who would sacrifice the nation to the su- 
premacy of his sect. Down with the bigot ! — he who would persecute the 
courage which had truth for its inspiration, and had humanity for its cause. 
Down with the bigot! — he who would banish the genius, which, in the dis- 
tribution of its fruits, was generous to all creeds; and, in the circle of its 
light, would embrace every altar in the land. 

" Down with the place-beggar ! — he who would traffic on a noble cause, 
and beg a bribe in the name of Liberty. He who would spurn the people 
upon whose shoulders he had mounted to that eminence from which he had 
beckoned to the Minister and said — "Look here — a slave for hire — a slave 
of consequence — a valuable slave — the people have confided in me." 

"You have now some notion of the principles upon which I stand. Do 
you scout, detest these principles? Do you think them intolerant, profane, 
■and impure? Punish me if you desire to retain your past character. Pre- 



96 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

serve the famous motto of our ancient municipality free from stain. As it. 
was won by a slavish loyalty, so maintain it by a sordid patriotism. 

41 Spurn me! — I have been jealous of my freedom, and in the pursuit 
of liberty I have scorned to work in shackles. Spurn me ! — I have fought 
my own way through the storm of politics, and have played, I think, no 
coward's part upon the way. Spurn me ! — I loathe the gold of England, and 
deem them slaves who would accept it. Spurn me ! — I will not beg a bribe 
for any of you — I will negotiate no pedler's bargain between the Minister 
and the people. Spurn me! — I have raised my voice against the tricks and 
vices of Irish politics, and have preached the attainment of a noble end by 
noble means. Spurn me ! — I have claimed the position and the powers which 
none amongst you, save the tame and venal, will refuse to demand; and in 
doing this, I have acted as became a free, unpensioned citizen." 

The effect of this magnificent address on the young orator's enthusiastic 
followers may well be imagined. But the conservatives present were scarcely 
less moved; they repeatedly gave vent to their admiration and delight in. 
exhuberant cheers.* Even the abashed Old Irelanders could not withstand 
it, and they several times assured the speaker that they had no ill-feeling 
towards him. But, on the voting adherents of the two place-hunting candi- 
dates the speech had no more effect than if they were so many rampant 
Orangemen, or impassive Saxon " chaw-bacons." Against their combined in- 
tolerance, stupidity and selfishness, no eloquence could avail. As between 
them they comprised two-thirds of the electors, the conservatives, finding 
they could not elect Meagher, and determined to defeat Costello, cast their 
votes for Barron, who was elected by a majority of 20. 

It was just as well that Meagher was not elected, for events were then 
transpiring in the eity of Paris which, in any case, would preclude his mak- 
ing the British Parliament the sphere of his efforts for Irish independence. 



♦The County of Waterford Grand Jury was then In session In the city court-house, 
and attended at the nomination. One of Its members, Mr. Francis Curry, of Llsmore 
Castle the Dufce of Devonshire's Irish agent, on his return home, expressed himself most 
enthusiastically In praise of Meagher's speech. "Before hearing It," he said, "he had no 
conception of what true eloquence was; and to enjoy such an Intellectual treat he would 
willingly walk barefoot from Llsmore to Waterford." 



TEE FBENCE BE VOLUTION. 97 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

"Lift up your pale faces, ye children of Borrow, 
The night passes on to a glorious tomorrow." 

Speranza. 

The news of the result of the Waterford election had hardly time to 
spread throughout the country, when other news came that cast all thoughts 
of parliamentary contests out of tie people's hearts. Like a revelation from 
Heaven heralded by a sun-ray that illuminated the Sacred Isle from centre 
to sea, came the soul-stirring inteligeoce: — 

"Revolution in France! 

"Abdication and Flight of Louis Phillippe! 

"A Republic Proclaimed!" 

The hopes that news created, the promises it conveyed can never be 
expressed in words by its recipients, and can never be even imagined by 
any one else. Every true Irish heart felt as if lifted "nearer to the sun." 
They felt a fore-taste of Freedom for themselves and their land so exqui- 
site and exhilirating that its memory was a blessing through their after 
lives. For the time being, they felt actually free. Free as if the Avenging 
Angel had swept over the land and stricken the upholders of the foreign 
tyrant as he did the host of Sennacherib. The national mind, which, one 
short month before, was almost overwhelmed in the depths of dejection, was 
again elevated to a pitch of enthusiasm such as it had not experienced since 
the summer of 1843. 

But, alas! in that dreary interval of five dismal years, nearly two mil- 
lions of the trusting, devoted peasantry, who, with bounding hearts and 
elastic steps, mustered in their strength at the call of O'Connell,— had per- 
ished miserably in their famine-haunted cabins, the poor-house, the fever- 
shed, the plague-ship, — or by the ditch-side — within sight of their bare and 
blackened roof-trees; while the common attributes of manhood were nearly 
eradicated from the souls of the survivors of that terrible ordeal. 

But there is a wonderfully recuperative element in the old Celtic nature, 
and never was it so strikingly exhibited as in this throne-upsetting-spring of 
184S. The memories of the past, — over-leaping the era of famine and plague 



98 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

— saw the glorious "Tricolor" floating over Bantry Bay and Killala, and, 
inspired by that radient vision, created anew the faith in its reappearance in 
the near future. And so, while the young men of the Irish Metropolis were 
enthusiastically chanting " The Marseillaise," and " Mourir Four la FatrieJ' 1 
the no less hopeful peasant gave vent to his exhuberant feelings in si c'.i 
suggestive ditties as : — 

" Vive la ! the French are coming, 
Vive la! they're all in view; 
Vive la! the Saxon's running — 
What shall our poor Yeomen do?" 

(To suit the circumstances of the times, the singer substituted "Peelers" 
for "Yeomen.") 

Another favorite reminder of the stirring " Ould Times," contained the 
following strikingly descriptive camp-scene. 

••The Militia wor' makin' the stir-about, 
An' the Yeomin wor' huntin* for spoons; 
When they hear that the Frlnch wor' in Bantry, 
They shook in their new pantaloons." 

Wherever Confederate Clubs had been established in the country towns, 
they, as a matter of course, became most active fosterers of the glowing 
hopes that lit up the national heart. The differences of opinion which sepa- 
rated "Old and Young Ireland" rapidly disappeared — exorcised by the pa- 
triotism which united all true hearts against the common enemy. The few 
irreconcilables who, here and there, held aloof from their jubilant fellow- 
countrymen, were good-naturedly left unheeded, and, by degrees, refrained 
from any exhibition of ill-will; and, in very many instances, the Catholic 
clergy, who, as devoted admirers of O'Connell, felt it their duty to oppose 
those who differed with him, now, that the time for action seemed near at 
hand, urged their flocks to prepare themselves to do their duty as men and 
patriots. 

The spirit of revolution was permeating all classes of Irish nationalists. 
But its most powerful propagandist was the national press. 

"The United Irishman." 

When, in January, 1848, John Mitchel, and his friend and associate, 
Thomas Devin Reilly, retired from the Nation, it was with the determina- 
tion of preaching their Revolutionary doctrines in an organ of their own. 

Accordingly, they at once issued the prospectus of the " United Irishman.''' 



TEE FRENCE REVOLUTION C» 

It contained many startling axioms, for its authors, like most propounders 
of fundamental truths, were then somewhat in advance of the times. On 
February 12th the first number of the paper appeared. Its success was un- 
paralelled in the annals of Irish journalism. The demand was so great that, 
for three days and nights the press was kept going, and copies were sold 
by the Dublin newsvenders for five times their oiiginal price. Nor was thi& 
surprising, for the "prospectus" had prepared people for the novel ideas it 
proposed to inculcate. Its policy was still more tersely defined in the 
" motto " which headed its editorial columns, and which was most likely 
selected in view of the heartless abandonment by the property-holders of the 
perishing people during the previous year. The " motto " was selected from 
the great founder of the " United Irishmen " : — 

"Our independence must be won at all hazards. If the men of property 
will not support us, they must fall; we can support ourselves by the aid 
of that numerous and respectable class of the community — The men of no 
property." 

Theobald Wolfe Tone. 

Bravely and faithfully did the founders of the United Irishman act in 
accordance with the axiom thus laid down by their great revolutionary pro- 
totype. 

The first number appeared twelve days before the French Revolution. 
Yet its tone was as defiant as it continued to be after that momentous 
event. Mitchel's inaugural letter to the "Earl of Clarendon," (the Lord 
Lieutenant,) startled the island like the first thunder-clap of a long-gather- 
ing storm; while in an article headed "The Sicilian Style," Reilly com- 
menced his series of Grand pceans for the triumph of the Soldiers of Liberty, 
which for power, brilliancy of style, and passionate earnestness, have never 
been excelled by any prose writer in the English language. 

Father John Kenyon, the celebrated Parish Priest of Templederry and 
John Martin, also contributed to the first number of the new national journal. 

A few weeks more found the Nation also travelling on the same revo- 
lutionary •' Highway to Freedom." Both papers were eagerly read in every 
city, town, and hamlet throughout the land, inciting all who aspired to see 
their country take her place among the enfranchised nations, to prepare to 
achieve her liberty by resolute hearts and armed hands. 

The popular response was, in effect : — 

•• Show us whence we hope may borrow, — 
And wb'u figii - vouk fight tobobbow." 



100 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

CHAPTER XX. 

DUBLIN VOICES THE NATIONAL SENTIMENT. 

"Now, citizens and countrymen, 

"Tls time for us to learn 
Aristocrats are kindliest 
When democrats are ttern. 
/ They talk us down, and walk us down, 

Who cringe to their command; 
But the yeli of our defiance 
Not a coronet can stand." 

Mart, 

While bonfires blazed on the Irish hills; while the towns were illu- 
minated, and tri-color flags flew from the windows of Confederate club- 
rooms throughout the provinces; all eyes were turned towards the Capital 
to see what action would be taken therein. As the headquarters of the Con- 
federation, all the Branches of the organization looked to it for guidance; 
while the country at large expected that its citizens would be equal to the 
emergency, and set an example worthy of being followed. 

And neither leaders nor citizens proved unworthy of the confidence reposed 
in their wisdom or their courage. Their conduct was admirable in the tre- 
mendous responsibility which they had so suddenly to confront. 

When the thrilling news first burst upon Dublin most of the leading 
members of the Confederation were absent from the city, but, pending the 
call for a general meeting of the body, the several clubs promptly met and 
passed appropriate Eesolutions, expressive of their delight at the glorious 
triumph achieved by the French democracy. The tradesmen and artizans, also, 
took measures for holding a public meeting of their body, to express their 
sympathy with, and admiration for, their fellow-workmen in France. In the 
meantime Charles Gavau Dufty promptly called a public meeting of the 
Confederation at the Music Hall, Abbey street. This meeting was held on 
the 2d of March, and thereat Mr. Duffy announced that " their long talked 
of opportunity had come, and that if they were not slaves and unworthy 
of liberty, Ireland would be free before the summer sunk into the winter; 
that their first duty was to forget and forgive, and state from that spot 
that all differences between Irishmen were at an end." Mr. Duffy also sug- 
gested that " a deputation be sent to France to tell its people and govern- 
ment how entirely the Irish people sympathized in their success." 



ADDBESS TO THE FRENCH PEOPLE. 101 

Another meeting of the Confederation was held on the following week, 
at the same place. Smith O'Brien was present, having come from England 
to attend it. He also thought that Ireland's opportunity had come, and 
counseled the people to " calm determination, and the exercise of forbear- 
ance and brotherly love towards all classes of their fellow-countrymen who 
exhibited a willingness to unite with them in demanding the legislative in- 
dependence of their country.'' He hoped that even then, the gentry would 
take their stand with the people, and wished to afford them no excuse for 
hesitation or doubt as to the reception they would receive. But he was 
mistaken in the heartless tribe. Of all the Irish landlords he, alone, cast 
his lot with the people in this hour of trial. 

Meagher was not present at either of those two meetings, but a letter 
from him was read at the second one. His time, however, soon came, and 
found him prepared to justify the faith his country reposed in his purpose, 
his determination, and his devotion to her cause. 

THE ADDRESS TO THE FRENCH PEOPLE. 

On Wednesday evening, March 15, took place the most important meet- 
ing yet held by the Irish Confederation. It was called by the Council of 
that body for the purpose of adopting an address of congratulation to the 
French people. An immense concourse attended, of which but a compara- 
tively small portion could find room in the great hall. Nearly all the most 
distinguished leaders were present on the platform, (save John Mitchel who 
was sick, yet attempted to come to the meeting, but could not gain admit- 
tance, owing to the doors being finally closed against the immense crowd 
outside). 

On the motion of Smith O'Brien, John Dillon took the chair. 

On rising to move an address of congratulation to the French people 
Mr. O'Brien addressed the meeting in a lengthy speech, in which he earnestly 
inculcated union among all Repealers as indispensable to success in attain- 
ing national independence. Referring to the proposed aggregate meeting of 
the citizens of Dublin, he said : — 

" The people are anxious to see a real effort made for union, and that 
there should be a great assemblage for the fraternization of all classes on an 
occasion so calculated to invite the entire unanimity which the circumstances 
of the time call for. Therefore, I trust, that a great aggregate meeting of 
the citizens of Dublin, composed of Old and Young Ireland, will be held 
to congratulate the French people. But I also hope that if you agree to 
hold a peaceful and unarmed meeting there shall be no retraction of that 
resolve. In selecting a place for the meeting, it should be, perhaps, some 



102 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAQHEB. 

field in the neighborhood of Dublin, where there would be no pretext for 
the police to interfere, on the ground that the meeting was infringing on 
the highway, or was an obstruction to business; but when the place of meet- 
ing is selected, and if you determine upon it, you should hold it whether there 
be a proclamation against it or not. * * * 

"I understand that it is currently reported that it is intended to have 
a massacre of the people at the place of meeting. I do not believe there 
is any such intention. For my part I have no objection to attend that meeting 
in the event of a proclamation against it. And I would earnestly caution 
the government not to send any of their troops there. I warn them, in 
perfect sincerity, that from what I can learn respecting the temper of the 
troops now stationed in Dublin, it is by no means improbable that if an 
order were given them to fire upon a peaceable and inoffending multitude, 
the first person shot by the troops would be the officer who gave such an 
order. I will pledge myself to take the front place at that meeting, and 
allow them to shoot me if they please." 

After reviewing the political situation abroad and at home, Mr. O'Brien 
went on to say that he " had no hesitation in declaring that he thought 
the minds of intelligent young men should be turned to the consideration of 
such questions as, how strong places can be captured, and weak ones defended 
— how supplies of food and ammunition can be cut off from an enemy, and 
how they can be secured to a friendly force. 

" The time was also come when every lover of his country should come 
forward openly and proclaim his willingness to be enrolled as a member of 
a national guard. No man, however, should tender his name as a member 
of that national guard unless he was prepared to do two things — one, to 
preserve the state from anarchy; the other, to be ready to die for the de- 
fence of his country." 

Mr. O'Brien concluded by moving the adoption of the address to the 
French people. 

Mi*. Eugene O'Reilly seconded the adoption of the address. The motion 
was put from the chair, and carried by acclamation. 

Mr. Meagher then came forward and proceeded to read the following 
address : — 

ADDRESS OF THE IRISH CONFEDERATION TO THE CITIZENS OF 
THE FRENCH REPUBLIC. 

"Illustrious Citizens, — Permit us to offer to you such congratulations 
as a people still suffering under servitude may, without reproach, testify to 
a nation which has nobly vindicated its own liberties. 



ADDRESS 'JO THE FRENCH PEOPLE. 103 

"We congratulate you upon the downfall of a tyranny elaborately con- 
structed with consummate art, but which has been prostrated in a moment 
of your chivalrous enthusiasm. 

" We know not whether most to admire your fiery valor in the hour 
of trial, or your sublime forbearance in the moment of success. 

" You have respected religion, and God has, therefore, blessed your 
work. 

" Your heroism has taught enslaved nations that emancipation ever awaits 
those who dare to achieve it by their intrepedity. 

"By your firm maintenance of public order, you have proved that true 
liberty claims no kindred with spoliation and anarchy. 

"We hail you henceforth as arbiters of the destinies of mankind, as 
deliverers of the oppressed members of the great human family. 

"We, whose nationality was extinguished by the basest arts — we, who 
daily experience the countless evils which result from that unspeakable loss— 
we, the inhabitants of Ireland, now claim your sympathy. 

"We have firmly resolved that this ancient kingdom shall once argain 
be free and independent. 

" In imitation of your example we propose to exhaust all the resources 
of constitutional action, before we resort to other efforts for redress. 

"Time will unfold our projects; but we hesitate not to tell you, in an- 
ticipation of the future, that your friendship may increase their efficacy, and 
accelerate their success. 

" Our claims to fraternity with you rest upon the proudest traditions of 
your history. 

"In other times, in the hour of Ireland's extremest need, your forefa- 
thers tendered shelter and hospitality to our exiled warriors; and Fontenoy 
can testify how well that hospitality was requited by the cheerful effusion 
of Irish blood in the maintenance of the glory of France. 

" On our own account, as well as upon yours, we shall watch with in- 
tense interest the development of your republican constitution. 

" We augurthe happiest results to yourselves and to mankind, from your 
determination to found your institutions upon the broadest basis — to place 
them no longer upon privileged classes, but upon the whole French nation. 

" Consolidate the great work which you have begun. Guarantee the 
rights of property, by securing the rights of industy. Indulge not the lust 
of conquest, but be ever ready to succor the oppressed. 

" Bender France the centre of European progress, as well in the march 
of freedom, as in the advance of civilization and of the arts. 

" Continue to present mankind a magnanimous example of manly virtue, 



1 04 MEMO IBS OF GEN. TJIOMA S FBA NCIS ME A GHER. 

and be assured, that among those who will greet you with iipplause and 
admiration, you will find no more affectionate ally than the people of 
Ireland. 

"Signed on behalf of the Irish Confederation, 

"WILLIAM S. O'BRIEN, 

" Chairman of the Council.'* 

MEAGHER'S FIRST UNCONSTITUTIONAL SPEECH. 
(March 15th, 1848.) 

Having read the address, Mr. Meagher continued: — 

" Citizens of Dublin, — I move the adoption of that address. In doing 
so, I will follow the advice of my friend, Mr. McGee. This is not the 
time for long speeches. Everything: we say here, just now, should be short, 
sharp, and decisive. I move the adoption of that address for this reason — 
the instruction it gives you, if obeyed, will keep you in possession of that 
opportunity which the Revolution of Paris has create?!. The game is in 
your hands at last, and you have a partner in the play upon whom you 
may depend. Look towards the southern wave, and do you not find it 
crimsoned with the flame in which the throne of the Tuilleries has been 
consumed, and borne upon that wave, do you not hail the rainbow flag, 
which, a few years since, glittered from the hills of Bantry? Has not 
France proclaimed herself the protectress of weak nations, and is not the 
sword of the republic pledged to the oppressed nationalities that in Europe, 
and elsewhere, desire to reconstruct themselves? The feet that have tram- 
pled upon the sceptre of July have trampled upon the treaty of Vienna. 
Henceforth the convenience of Kings will be slightly consulted by France, 
where the necessities of a people manifest themselves. 

"Do not beg the blood, which, on the altar of Madeleine, she consecrate* 
to the service of humanity. Do not purchase your independence at the ex- 
pense of these poor workmen, whose heroism has been so impetuous, so gen- 
erous, so tolerant. It is sufficient for us that the republic, to use the 
language of Lamartine, shines from its place upon the horizon of nations, 
to instruct and guide them. Listen to these instructions, accept this guid- 
ance, and be confident of success. 

"Fraternize! I will use the word, though the critics of the castle reject 
It as the cant of the day. I will use it, for it is the spell-word of weak 
nations. Fraternize, as the citizens of Paris have done, and in the clasped 
hands that arch the colossal car in that great funeral procession of the 4th 



FIB ST UNCONSTITUTIOXAL SPEECH. 105 

of March, behold the sign in which your victory shall be won. Do you 
not redden at the thought of your contemptible factions, their follies and 
their crimes? Do you not see that every nation, with a sensible head and 
an upright heart, laughs at your poor, profligate passion, which frets and 
fights for a straw in this parish — a feather in that barony — a bubble on 
that river? Have you not learned by this, that, whilst you have been fight- 
ing for these straws and bubbles, the country has been wrenched from 
beneath your feet, and made over to the brigands of the Castle? And what 
enables these sleek and silken brigands to hold your country? Have you fought 
them? Have you struck blow for blow, and been worsted in the fight? Think 
of it. You marched against them a few years back, and when you drew up 
before the Castle gates, you cursed and cuffed each other — and then withdrew. 
Withdrew! For what? To repair the evil? To re-unite the forces ? Ah! I will 
not sting you with the questions — I will not sting myself. Let no Irishman 
look into the past; he will be scared at the evidences of his guilt — eviden- 
ces which spring up, like weeds and briars, in that bleak waste of ruins. 
Between us and the past let a wall arise, and, as if this day was the first 
of our existence, let us advance together towards that destiny, in the light 
of which this old island shall renew itself. 

"Citizens! — I use another of the "cant phrases" of the day, for this, 
too, is a spell-word with weak nations — I speak thus, in spite of circum- 
stances which, within the last few days (I allude to the addresses from the 
University and the Orange Lodges,) — have darkened the prospect of a na- 
tional union. I speak thu3 in spite of that squeamish morality which decries 
the inspiration of the time, and would check the lofty passion which desires 
to manifest itself in arms. But I will not despair of this union whoever 
may play the factionist. The people will act for themselves and will not 
be compromised. At this startling moment — when your fortunes are swing- 
ing in the balance — let no man dictate to you. Trust to your own intelli- 
gence, sincerity, and power. Do not place your prerogatives in commission 

— the Sovereign People should neither lend nor abdicate the sceptre. As to 
the "upper classes" — "respectable circles of society" — genteel nobodies — 
nervous aristocrats — friends of order and starvation — of pestilence and peace 

— of speedy hangings and green-cropping — as to these conspirators against 
the life and dignity of the island, they must be no longer courted. 
They are cowards; and when they see your strength, they will cling to you 
for protection. Do I tell you to refuse this protection? Were I base enough 
to do so, you would lemind me that the revolution of Paris has been im- 
mortalized by the clemency of the people. 

"In my letter last week to the Council of the Confederation I stated 



10G MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

that it was not my wish to urge any suggestion as to the course we should 
pursue. Upon reflection, however, I think I am called upon to declare to 
you my opinion upon this question; for it would not be honorable, I con- 
ceive, for any prominent member of the Confederation to shield himself at 
this crisis. And I am the more anxious to declare my opinion upon this 
question of ways and means, since I had not the good fortune of being 
present at your two previous meetings, and perhaps my absence may have 
XJCdsioned some suspicion. 

"I think, then, that from a meeting — constituted, as the Repealers of 
Kilkenny have suggested, of delegates from the chief towns and parishes — 
a deputation should proceed to London, and in the name of the Irish people, 
demand an interview with the Queen. Should the demand be refused, let 
the Irish deputies pack up their court dresses — as Benjamin Franklin did, 
when repulsed from the court of George III. — and let them, then and there, 
make solemn oath, that when next they demand admission to the throne 
room of St. James's, it shall be through the accredited ambassador of the 
Irish Republic. Should the demand be conceded, let the deputies approach 
the throne, and, in firm and respectful terms, call upon the Queen to exer- 
cise the royal prerogative, and summon her Irish Parliament to sit and 
advise her in the city of Dublin. 

"If the call be obeyed — if the sceptre touch the bier, and she "who 
is not dead but sleepeth," should start at its touch into a fresh and lumi- 
nous existence — then, indeed, may we bless the constitution we have been 
taught to curse, and Irish loyalty, ceasing to be a mere ceremonious affec- 
tation, become with us a sincere devotion to the just ruler of an indepen- 
dent state. 

"If the claim be rejected — if the throne stand as a barrier between 
the Irish people and their supreme right — then loyalty will be a crime, 
and obedience to the executive will be treason to the country. I say it 
calmly, seriously, and deliberately, it will then be our duty to fight, and 
desperately fight. (Here the whole meeting stood up, and a tremendous 
burst of applause broke from every part of the house.) The opinions of 
"Whig statesmen have been quoted here to-night. I beg to remind you of 
Lord Palmerston's language in reference to the insurrection m Lisbon last 
September. ' I say that the people were justified in saying to the govern- 
ment—If you do not give us a parliament in which to state our wrongs 
aud grievances, we shall state them by arms and by force." 

"I adopt these words, and I call upon you to adopt them likewise. 

"Citizens of Dublin, I know well what I may incur by the expression 
©i these sentiments — I know it well — therefore, let no man indulgently as- 



FIBST UNCONSTITUTIONAL SPEECH. 107 

cribe them to ignorance or to idiocy. "Were I more moderate — as some Whig- 
sympathizer would say — more sensible, as he might add, without meaning 
anything personal of course — more practical, as he would further beg leave 
to remark, without at all meaning to deny that I possessed some excellent 
points — in fact, and in truth, were I a temperate trifler, a polished knave, 
a scientific dodger — I might promise myself a pleasant life, many gay 
scenes, perhaps no few privileges. Moderate, sensible, practical men, are 
sure to obtain privileges just now. Paid poor-law guardianships are plentilul 
now-a-days, and the invitations to the Castle are indiscriminate and innu- 
merable. But I desire to be neither moderate nor sensible — neither sensible 
nor practical, in the sense attached to these words by the polite and knav- 
ish circle, of which his Excellency is the centre. It is the renunciation of 
truth, of manhood, and of country — the renunciation of the noblest lessons 
with which the stately genius of antiquity has crowned the hills of Rome, 
and sanctified the dust of Greece — the renunciation of all that is frank, and 
chivalrous, and inspiring — it is the renunciation of all this which makes 
you acceptable in the eyes of that meagre, spectral royalty, which keeps 
"open house" for reduced gentlemen upon the summit of Cork-Hill. Better 
to swing from the gibbet than live and fatten upon such terms as these. 
Better to rot within the precincts of the common gaol — when the law has 
curbed your haughty neck, young traitor! than to be the moderate, sensible, 
practical villain, which these Chesterfields of the Dublin promenades and 
salons would entreat you to De for the sake of society and the success of 
the Whigs. 

"But the hour is on the stroke when these conceits and mockeries shall 
be trampled in the dust. 

" The storm that dashed down the crown of Orleans against the column 
of July has rocked the foundations of the Castle. They have no longer a 
safe bedding in the Irish soil. To the first breeze that shakes the banners 
of the European rivals they must give way. Be you upon the watch to 
catch that bi eeze. When the world is in arms — when the silence which, 
for two-and-thirty years, has reigned upon the plain of Waterloo, at last is 
broken — then be prepared to grasp your freedom with an armed hand, and 
hold it with the same. 

"In the meantime, tike warning from this address — 'do not suffer your 
sacred cause to be ruined by stratagem or surprise.' Beware of the ingen- 
uity — the black art — of those who hold your country. By your sagacious 
conduct keep them prisoners in their barracks on the 17th. There must be 
no bloody joke, at your expense, amongst the jesters and buffoons in St. 
Patrick's Hall, upon that night. 



103 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

"Citizens of Dublin, you have heard my opinions. These opinions may 
be very rash, but it would not be honest to conceal them. The time has 
come for every Irishman to speak out. The address of the University declares 
that it is the duy of every man in the kingdom to say whether he is the 
friend or the foe of the government. I think so too, and I declare myself 
the enemy of the government. 

"But if I am rash, it was Rome, it was Palermo, it was Paris, that 
made me rash. Vexed by the indiscretion — the fanaticism — of those cities, 
who can keep his temper, dole out placid law, and play the gentle dema- 
gogue? 

" When the sections of Paris were thickening like the clouds of a tem- 
pest, round the Tuilleries, in 1793, Louis XVI. put on his court dress, and, 
in his ruffles and silk stockings, waited for the thunderbolt. Is it thus 
that you will wait for the storm now gathering over Europe? Shall the 
language of the nation be the language of the Four Courts? 

"Will the revolution be made with rose-water? Look up! look up! and 
behold the incentives of the hour. 

"By the waves of the Mediterranean the Sicilian noble stands, and pre- 
sents to you the flag of freedom. From the steps of the Capitol the keeper 
of the sacred keys unfurls the banner that was buried in the grave of the 
Bandieros and invites you to accept it. From the tribune of the French Repub- 
lic, where that gallant workman exclaims — ' Respect the public monuments ! 
respect the rights of property! the people have shown that they will not 
be ill-governed. Let them prove they know how to use the victory they 
have won.' 

" From this tribune, where these noble words are uttered, the hand of 
labor — the strong hand of God's nobility — proffers you the flag of indepen- 
dence. Will you refuse to take it? Will you shut your eyes to the splen- 
dors that surround you and grope your way in darkness to the grave? 

"Ah! pardon me this language — it is not the language which tho 
awakening spirit of the country justifies. Taught by the examples of Italy, 
of France, of Sicily, the citizens of Ireland shall at last unite. To the en- 
mities that have snapped the ties of citizenship, there shall be a wise and 
generous termination. Henceforth, the power of the Island shall be lodged 
in one head, one heart, one arm. One thought shall animate, one passion 
shall inflame, one effort concentrate, the genius, the enthusiasm, the heroism 
of the people. 

"Thus united — to repeat what I have said before — let the demand for 
the reconstruction of the nationality of Ireland be constitutionally made. 



FIRST UNCONSTITUTIONAL SPEECH. 10 J 

Depute your worthiest citizens to approach the throue, and before that throne 
let the will of the Irish people be uttered with dignity and decision. 

"If nothing comes of this — if the constitution opens to us no path to 
freedom — if the Union will be maintained in spite of /the will of the Irish 
people — if the government of Ireland insists upon being a government of 
dragoons and bombadiers, of detectives and light infantry — then up with the 
barricades and invoke the God of Battles! 

" Should we succeed — oh ! think of the joy, the ecstacy, the glory of 
this old Irish nation, which in that hour will grow younger and stronger 
again. 

" Should we fail, the country will not be worse than it is now — the 
sword of famine is less sparing than the bayonet of the soldier. And if 
we, who have spoken to you in this language, should fall with you; or if, 
reserved for a less glorious death, we be flung to the vultures of the law — then 
shall we recollect the words of France — the promise she has given to weak 
nations; and standing upon the scaffold, within one heart's-beat of eternity, 
our last cry upon this earth shall be — 

France! France! revenge us!" 

The significance of this speech was understood and appreciated by friends 
and foes. To the former it was as a revelation — vivifying their glowing 
hopes, and clothing them with a halo of glory and light, that, like a beat- 
ific vision, impressed itself upon the memory through after years. To the 
government it was a menace and a warning. That they anticipated it was 
evidenced by their taking the precaution to send an official reporter to the 
meeting; and that they made the fullest use of the evidence he supplied, 
and with the least possible delay, was shown by their having both O'Brien 
and Meagher arrested for sedition on the ensuing week. Nor, so far as the 
latter was concerned, did their determination to wreak vengeance on" his 
head end with their failure to convict him of the minor offense of sedition. 
The trepidation which those bold utterances of his, on that memorable 15th 
of March caused in their cowardly, vindictive hearts, was neither forgotten 
nor forgiven ; and, accordingly, the terror-inspiring sentence? were, once 
again, brought into requisition, and made to constitute the strongest element 
in the young rebel's indictment, when, with his gallant comrades, he stood 
rraigned for high treason in the dock of Clonmel. 

William Smith O'Brien, Thomas Francis Meagher, and Edward Hollywood 
were deputed to present the " Address of Congratulation to the French 
People." 



110 MEMOFRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHES, 



CHAPTER XXI. 

AN EVENTFUL WEEK IN THE IRISH CAPITAL. 

Let the coward shrink aside. 

We'll have our own again; . i 

Let the brawling slave deride, 

Here's for our own again — 
Let the tyrant bribe ana lie, 

March, threaten, fortify, _l." 

Loose his lawyer and his spy, 

Yet we'll have our own again. 
Let him sooth In silken tone 
Scold from a foreign throne; 
Let him come with bugles blown, 

We shall have our own again. 
Let us to our purpose bide, 

We'll have our own again — 
Let the game be fairly tried, I 

We'll have our own again." 

THOMA8 Davib. . „ 4 

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS. 

It was at first, intended, that the aggregate meeting of the United Re- 
pealers of Dublin should be held on St. Patrick's Day. A statement to 
that effect had been circulated through the country for some days preced- 
ing the " National Festival,'" and, as it was the general opinion that the 
government would attempt to play the " Clontarf "' game over again, by 
issuing a ; proclamation " against the meeting at the latest moment, and, 
in the event of the proclamation being disobeyed, essay to disperse the 
assemblage by force of arms, and so precipitate the conflict that they felt 
must cOme, sooner or later, myself and comrade, Dan. Magrath, determined 
on being present at the meeting, and taking part in the " opening of the 
ball." 

In accordance with this resolution, we arrived in Dublin on St. Patrick's 
Eve, at about 8 p. m., and guided by a young fellow-traveller, took lodg- 
ings for the night at an unpretentious but popular hostelry in the vicinity 
of Smithfield-Market. 

Early on "St. Patrick's morning" our attention was attracted by the 
peculiarly musical cry of the Dublin street-venders — "Shamrocks! Nice 



PEBSOXAL OBSEBVATIONS. Ill 

Green Shamrocks ! — a penny a bunch ! " On procuring a specimen of the 
vernal merchandise, I was much pleased to find it was the genuine "Sham- 
rock," and not a "clover'* substitute — for I did not expect that city-bred 
people possessed the requisite botanical kncwledge to discriminate between 
the two. 

On our way to mass, we, for the first time, learned, from large green 
posters on the walls, that the " Great Meeting of Dublin Citizens," had 
been postponed until Monday, March 20th, on which day it was to be held, 
under any circumstances, at the "North-Wall." 

We subsequently learned that this change of date was adopted by the 
Council of the Confederation, in consequence of the Conciliation hall leaders 
having announced at their last meeting, that a series of " Ward Meetings " 
was to be held throughout the city on St. Patrick's Day, for the purpose 
of advancing the cause of Repeal by constitutional means — (including, I 
believe, a petition to "Her Gracious Majesty.") The Confederates being de- 
sirous of Union among all classes of Irish nationalists, and of taking no 
action that might give a semblance of excuse to others of less earnestness 
of purpose — thereupon determined to let their brethren of Conciliation Hall 
utilize the National Festival according to their programme, and trust to hav- 
ing all earnest Irishmen show a united front to the common enemy at the 
forthcoming aggregate meeting. 

Having t ms ascertained that we had three days at our disposal before 
the meeting, we determined to utilize this interval in seeing what we could 
ol the city; but, as a preliminary step to our tour of observation, it was 
advisable to have a reliable guide, and him we were sure of finding in an 
old comrade and fellow-workman of Dan's, Robert Ward, whose address was 
to be had at " Rooney's, saddler, Capel street." 

Thither we proceeded, and on enquiring for Mr. Ward, ascertained that 
he had sailed for America three weeks before. Much disappointed at this 
untoward intelligence, we were on our way to our lodgings, when Dan sud- 
denly exclaimed, "Why! here's Bob Ward, himself;" and, an instant after, 
with a similar cry of recognition, a tall, strapping fellow grasped Dan's 
hand, and, after being introduced to me, mutual explanations followed. 
Three weeks previously Bob, (being, like ourselves, disheartened at the politi- 
cal aspect of Irish affairs,) took passage from Dublin for New York. When 
about ten days at sea, the ship encountered a series of heavy gales which 
eventually disabled her, and forced her to put about — and run before the 
wind — for her port of departure. She had only arrived in harbor the day 
before. Two days previously, they learned the news of the French Revolu- 
tion from an outer-bound vessel. It came to Bob " like a reprieve from the 



112 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

gallows." It was actually a release from " transportation." He was then 
on his way to the shipping office to get his passage money refunded, — for 
the vessel would be under repairs for sonu- weeks. 

Having accomplished his business at the office, Mr. Ward brought us to 
his old lodgings, situated at the corner of North King and Lurgan streets, 
and there we remained, awaiting events, for the ensuing four months, dur- 
ing which time we had many interesnng personal experiences, which, how- 
ever, do not come within the scope of thf- present work. 

However, as Eobert Ward figured prominently in some of the most 
exciting events which transpired in Dublin during the period referred to, 
a lew words concerning his personal history will not be out of place hi re. 

" Bob. Ward ! " as he was familiarly known to his intimates of the 
Irish Confederation — was boru in the village of Ballyhale, County Kilkenny, 
in the immediate vicinity of Ca: rickshock — the scene of the most celebrated 
battle of the "Tithe-War" — an event of local history in which he prided 
almost as much as he did in the "victory of Clontarf." 

Having received as good an education as most boys in his circumstances 
had at the time, he was bound apprentice to a saddler in Carrick-on-Suir ; 
but his "master" dying before he had completed his apprenticeship — he 
was sent to Dublin to serve the balance of his time with one of the best- 
known tradesmen of that city. As a journeyman, he made a tour through 
the country, visiting, among other places, his favorite old town of CarricK, 
and here it was that he first made the acquaintance of his fellow-craftsman, 
Dan. Magrath, who was also " seeing the world " under like circumstances. 
A congenial disposition made them fast friends, and, after Bob returned to 
Dublin, they maintained a regular correspondence until within a few weeks 
Of our meeting in such a singular way. 

Bob Ward had the reputation among his fellow clubmen of being one 
of the most ultra disciples of the " Physical Force " doctrine, in Dub- 
lin; and in his discussions with the partizans of the "old school," he was 
ever ready to maintain his side of the argument in the most demonstrative 
mauner, as became a foster child of "Law-defying Carrick." 

He was one of the minority who sided with John Mitchel in the "Three 
Days' Debate," and it was the result of that friendly contest that led to 
his sudden resolve to go to America. Being an active member of the "Swift 
Club," he proposed that we should affiliate ourselves therewith, and obtain- 
ing our consent, he lost no time in proposing us at the next meeting of 
that body. 

Dan. and I were alroady members of the Confederate Club of Cappo- 
quin, which wa3 organized a year previously, by Mr. John Williams, a 



PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS. 113 



member of the Council of the Confederation. For this reason, and because 
he was the only gentleman of the central body to whom we were person- 
ally known, we felt it to be our duty to report to Mr. Williams at once, 
and be guided by his advice as to our future movements. 

Accordingly, we called on Mr. Williams at the Council Rooms of the 
Confederation, and were received by him most warmly. He fully approved 
of our views in coming to Dublin, pointed out the leading members of the 
Council, with whose names we had long been familiar, but whom, with two 
exceptions — (Mr. Duffy and Mr. O'Gorman) — we had not before seen per- 
sonally, and, before we parted, he invited me to visit him at his home in 
Blackrock, on the Sunday following, when we could talk over the situation 
at leisure. This invitation I accepted, and while on my way by rail to Black- 
rock I enjoyed my first view of far-famed "Dublin Bay." 

During our interview on that occasion, Mr. Williams proposed that — if 
nothing untoward took place at the meeting on the day following — (for, 
even then, no one could say what the Government would do) — I should be 
introduced by him to Mr. Charles Gavau Duffy on the following Tuesday. 

THE AGGREGATE MEETING. 

Never in the history of Dublin, was the resolute courage and calm de- 
termination of its citizens more thoroughly tested than on the 20th of March, 
1848, when, in face of a wily, treacherous, and blood-thirsty foe, with twelve 
thousand armed cut-throats ready to execute his orders, they assembled at 
the call of their trusted leaders to testify their admiration of the throne- 
destroying sons of France. Litttle recked these horny-handed children of 
toil, that the, whilome occupant of the regal chair whose crimson flames 
illuminated the court-yard of the Tuilleries, was then the guest of her whose 
accursed flag flaunted above Birmingham Tower — an insult and a menace to 
thems< Ives and their land. For once, at least, they were determined that 
the "Capital" should set a worthy example to the "Nation" — be the 
coasequences what they may. 

There was no mistaking the gravity of the situation. Both leaders and 
followers understood it well, and confronted it with open eyes, and spirits 
braced for all eventualities. In the United Irishman of March I8th, Join 
Mitchel wrote : — 

"Not an eye in Ireland that is not fixed on this city now. Not a mail 

quits the capital, north, south, or westward, that will not carry, cut and 

dry, in leathern bags, criticisms on our bearing and our spirit. We stand 

now in the van of the quarrel, the nearest to the enemy. From Cork to 

s 



114- MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHEB. 

Galway, and round to the extreme north, men, crave men, enslaved men, 
ready to die rather than endure one year of slavery more — hungry men, 
evicted men, enwrathed men, wait intently on our work, ready to curse us 
if we fail — to imitate our courage, or avenge our defeat." 

The article from which the above extract is taken wound up with these 
emphatic words: — 

"We await attack. We shall not provoke the shedding of blood; but if 
blood be shed, we will see the end of it." 

That the significance of this warning note was duly appreciated by friends 
and foes — as it was read and pondered over throughout the land, in the 
brief interval between its utterance and the hour appointed for the meeting 
— may be taken for granted. 

On the morning of the meeting, the city of Dublin presented no sign 
that any unusal event was about to occur within its precincts. There was- 
an entire absence of that jubilant hilarity which was observable on the advent 
of the great Repeal meetings of 1843. No banners fluttered over the heads 
of marching columns; no bands thrilled their hearts with the grand airs of 
their native land; no gay laugh accompanied the greeting of brother-nation- 
alists as they met on the streets. On the contrary, the countenances of 
the great majority of way-farers wore a serious, pre-occupied look — evincing 
a settled determination of purpose and a spirit of self-reliance and confidence 
such as become men determined to fulfil their duty at all hazards. 

But, with all these assuring signs among the men of purpose and action^ 
there was noticeable an undefiuable air of anxiety and apprehension on the 
faces of the non-combatant public. To them there seemed to be a feeling 
of bodeful restlessness in the air — the precursor of an approaching calamity 
of some sort. 

No military appeared on the streets. All were confined to their barracks 
awaiting orders from the Castle. The police reserves were also held in rea- 
diness, while those on duty perambulated their beats, silent and observant. 

Soon after ten o'clock, a. M., a steady stream of men might be seen 
wending its way down the line of quays on the north side of the Liffy. 
Every debouching street sent its contingent to swell the volume. The sev- 
eral bridges spanning the river were black with living torrents whose sources 
extended from Kilmainham to Donnybrook, including the desolated " Liber- 
ties," and 

"The gloomy Thomas street — where gallant Robert died." 

Joining the Capel street current, we filed down the quays, and arrived 
at the place of meeting a short time before the opening of the proceed- 



THE AGGREGATE MEETING. 115 

ings. The numbers then present were estimated at from twelve to fifteen 
thousand men; and a more resolute and intelligent assemblage, of its size, 
I never beheld. The platform was crowded with the committee of the 
meeting, the movers and seconders of resolutions, (who were distinguished 
by wearing green rosettes,) the deputies of the various trades, aud the 
leading men of the Irish Confederation. 

These latter gentlemen included Richard O'Gorman, Senior, (who had 
been unanimously accorded the privilege of occupying the post of honor and 
of danger on that critical occason as Chairman of the meeting,) William 
Smith O'Brien, Richard O'Gorman, Junior, Charles Gavan Duffy, John Mitchel, 
Thomas Devin Reillv, Thomas Francis Meagher, Charles Taaffe, barrister, 
John O'Hagan, barrister, Patrick J. Barry, Thomas D. Magee, James Doyle, 
John Fisher Murray, John Williams, P. O'Douahue, Francis Morgan, Martin 
O'Flaherty, R. D. Ireland, John A. Curran, J. B. Watson, Doctor Duffy, 
Dr. West, &c, &c. 

Mr. John B. Dillon was prevented by sickness from being present, as 
he intended. 

After a brief address from the Chairman, Mr. John Mitchel brought up 
the address to the citizens of the French Republic, and, after a clear and 
•comprehensive statement of the work achieved by the men of France in 
their several revolutions during the past sixty years, he read the address, 
and moved its adoption, and its presentation in Paris by a deputation from 
the meeting. 

Mr. Ryan, (cabinet-maker,) on behalf of the Trades of Dublin, seconded 
the motion — which passed unanimously. 

The meeting was subsequently addressed by the following distinguished 
Confederates, in the order of their names : — 

Richard O'Gorman, Junior, T. D. Magee, T. F. Meagher, T. D. Reilly, 
C. G. Duffy, P. O'Donohue, and William Smith O'Brien. 

From Meagher's speech I select the following extracts. They are sig- 
nificant in view of the hopes entertained by the Irish people of to-day of 
the English democracy: — 

"I am happy to tell you that I had the honor of addressing 15,000 
stout men in Manchester upon that night,* English and Irish, — Chartist and 
Repealers. 

" Oh ! we have been guilty of sad injustice in our abuse of the English 
democracy. The democrats of England are brave, intelligent, noble fellows, 



• St. Patrick's night. 



110 MEMOIRS OF GEX. THOMAS FRANCIS ME \GIIER. 

and they will stand by you in the worst extremity. Let the Government 
ghed one drop of blood in Ireland, and the sky that spans the shores of 
England will scare them with the signs of a desperate retribution. Man- 
chester, Liverpool, every great town in the manufacturing districts, will 
answer the fire that deals destruction upon the Irish people. * * * 

"Whoever may act the traitor — the petty lawyerling — the coward here 

— there is a power in England that will repeal the Union, if Irishmen have 
not the honest bravery to do so." 

On the motion of Mr. Duffy, Mr. Richard O'Gorman, Jr., Mr. John B. 
Dillon, and Mr. Redmond were appointed as the deputation by whom the 
address was to be presented to the people of France. 

The meeting adjourned, and the speakers and committee, accompanied by 
an immense crowd proceeded down the quays. The multitude cheered most 
enthusiastically when passing Conciliation Hall. 

On arriving opposite the Committee-rooms in Westmoreland street, they 
halted, and were addressed from a window by Mr. Meagher and Mr. O'Brien, 
who thanked them for the manner in which they had performed their duty 
to their country, and advised them to disperse in a peaceful and orderly 
way — after giving one cheer for the combination of all Irishmen. 

The concourse then dispersed to their several homes. While the main 
body were passing through College Green they met General Blakeney, com- 
mander of the forces in Ireland, and another mounted officer. The bluff old 
general was evidently a favorite with the Dubliners, for they made an 
avenue for him to pass through, and cheered him loudly on the way. He 
and his companion were the only uniformed soldiers encountered by those 
who attended the meeting on that day. 

" CONSTITUTIONAL " WARFARE. 

But, if deterred by Meagher's threat of French vengeance from carrying 
x out his first intentions of letting loose his armed mercenaries on the de- 
fencess citizens of Dublin, Her Gracious Majesty's Vicegerant was detei mined 
to wreak vengeance on the men by whose advice he and his cut-throats 
had been set at defiance, and to accomplish his work hi a less risky style 

— choosing his own ground, and his own weapons. 

He hist: nr> > time, either, in opening his masked batteries. On the day 
after the meeting of the Trades and Citizens of Dublin, informations were 
sworn at the Head Police Office against Messrs. William Smith O'Brien, 
Thomas Francis Meagher, and John Mitchel, the two former for having ut- 



PERSONAL OBSER VA TIONS. 



tered " seditious " speeches at the meeting of the Irish Confederation held 
in the Music Hall on the 15th of March, the latter for the publication of 
three " seditious " articles in the United Irishman newspaper. 

In the course of the evening, each of the above gentlemen was waited 
upon by Mr. Frank Thorpe Porter, (the genial Police Justice) and received 
notice to appear with bail at the Head Office the next morning before 
twelve o'clock. 

When the news was published in the morning papers, it created consid- 
erable excitement throughout the city, and, as the hour for the appearance 
of the accused at the Police Office drew near, the vicinity of the. Council 
Rooms and of the United Irishman office was thronged by a concourse of 
citizens, who accompanied the gentlemen and their bail to their destination. 

Passing up Dame street, the multitude had the appearance of a triumphal 
procession, the broad thoroughfare being filled from curb to curb by the 
tramping mass of resolute looking men. while the side-walks were equally 
crowded with a promiscuous concourse of all ages and both sexes — with 
flushed faces and flashing eyes. In fact, the whole appearance of things 
wore a decidedly healthy, revolutionary aspect, the spirits of the people being 
more <ffusive and less restrained than on the occasion of the meeting two 
days before. 

Being bound to participate in whatever popular movements came under 
our observation, myself and comrades found ourselves in the midst of the 
excited throng which surged up the steps leading from the street to the 
door of the Head Office. In a few moments the apartment was crowded, 
and the guard at the door objected to any more entering. 

AN UNCONVENTIONAL INTRODUCTION. 

Charles Gavan Duffy had just obtained admission after the exchange 
of some sharp words with the policeman. Thomas Devin Reilly came 
next, but was peremptorily refused admittance just as he stood on the 
threshold. He gave vent to his feelings in language more emphatic than 
polite — as befitted the occasion. I was jammed close behind him in the 
crowd, and cried out, impulsively, "Never mind, my boy; sure they only left 
you in the position you must take one of these days — that of ' The Man 
in the Gap ! ' " The remark seemed to restore his native good humor, for, 
turning pleasantly round, he asked, "Where did you come from?" (My 
Munster accent, I suppose, showing that I was a stranger in Dublin). I 
satisfied him as to all he required to know at the time, as we walked away 
together from the crowd, and waited for the traversers to emerge from the 
office after perfecting their recognizances. 



118 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

Such was the manner of my introduction to the man, with whom, of 
of all the leading Confederates, I was, while he lived, on terms of closed 
personal intimacy. I shall have more to say of him in the course of this 
memoir. 

When Messrs. O'Brien, Mitchel and Meagher came out into the street, 
they were received with loud cheers by the immense crowd which had col- 
lected. Escorted by the multitude, they proceeded to the Council Rooms of 
the Irish Confederation in D'Olier street. When they arrived there every 
lamp-post and window in the vicinity was crowded with spectators, while a 
dense mass filled the street below. It rained heavily by this time, but that 
had no apparent effect on the spirits of the people. 

Messrs. O'Brien, Mitchel, Meagher, Doheny and O'Gorman, addressed the 
enthusiastic assembly in ringing speeches from the windows of the Council 
Rooms. In the course of Mitchel's remarks, he said, " They have indicted 
me for 'seditfon,' but I tell them that I mean to commit 'high treason.' " 
The cool, matter-of-fact way in which he announced his intentions, electrified 
the crowd, but it did not appear to astonish any one, for not a man of the 
ten thousand present, but believed him in his soul. I may state here that 
Mitchel's speech wa3 not reported as delivered — the daily papers not wish- 
ing to risk the consequences of publishing such treasonable utterances. But 
the words I have quoted, I heard, and they left a lasting impression on my 
memory. 

MEAGHER'S SPEECH. 
(March 22, 1848.) 

At the retirement of Mr. Mitchel, Mr. Meagher presented himself at the 
window amidst the most enthusiastic cheering, and spoke as follows: — 

"Citizens of Dublin, — I seize this opportunity — the last I shall have 
previous to my departure for Franca — to tell you my mind with regard to 
my present position. Informations have been sworn against me for a sedi- 
tious speech, and I have been bound over to appear in the Queen's Bench 
upon the 15th day of Ap.il. Now, I think it my duty to tell you, that 
from this moment out it will be my sole aim and study to aggravate that 
crime, and devote the few days that I may be at liberty to the utterance 
of nothing else but sedition. Do you think that I am ashamed to be 
charged with having spoken seditious sentiments? Why, my friends, I glory 
in having done so; and feel prouder this moment in being scouted by this 
sanguinary government as the propagandist of sedition, than if I sat in 
ermine and red cloth upon the bench, and was revered as the stoutest limb 



MEAGHEB'S SPEECH. 119 



or the brightest light of the law. As I speak to you now, so shall I speak 
to the judge, the jury, and the prosecuting underlings of this Thug-like 
government. I shall tell them to their faces that I have spoken sedition, 
and that I glory in it. The language of sedition is the language of free- 
dom. There shall be no duplicity in this matter. I am guilty of an attempt 
to sow disaffection in the minds of the people — I am guilty of an attempt 
to overthrow this government, which keeps its f .oting on our soil by sheer 
brute force, and by nothing else. And this I tell you, that until that gov- 
ernment be , thoroughly upset, I shall not cease to write, to speak, to act 
sedition. One circumstance alone shall stop me in this career — my death. 
In their courts of law we shall take issue with them boldly and desperately. 
If we do not throw them there, we shall throw them on a broader field. 
It must be done. The news this morning announces that Vienna is in the 
hands of the people. Dublin must be in the hands of the people. Stand by 
us, citizens, and it shall be done. In standing by us, you do not stand by 
a few misguided young men — you staid by immortal principles. There must 
be union— there will be union. I am proud to tell you that Mr. Maurice 
O'Connell held out to me the hand of fraternity this day. I thank him 
sincerely and deeply. I thank him, not for the personal compliment he has 
thus paid me, but for the service he has done the cause of Ireland by this 
frank and generous act. They threaten, indeed, to put down the United 
Irishman. Why, my friends, it is not one United Irishman they must put 
down, but five millions of United Irishmen. Fjr two years we have fought 
their corrrup.ion, now we shall figh; their coercion. We opposed free hearts 
to the former — we shall oppose the latter with armed hands — 

«• ' Let them soothe, with silken tone, 
Scold from a foreign throne 
(Aye) — or come with bugles bown 
We'll have our own again.' " 

(Mr. Meagher retired amidst the most enthusiastic and deafening cheering.) 



CHAPTER XXII. 

IN THE CITY OF THE BARRICADES. 

The Irish deputies arrived in Paris towards the end of March. On- 
Monday, April 3d, according to a prearranged appointment with the Pro- 
visional Government, Mr. Smith O'Brien and the other members of the Irish 



120 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

Confederation proceeded to the Hotel de Ville to present their address. 
They were received, on behalf of the Provisional Government, by its 
President, M. de Lamartine, a dandified humbug and poet of the Sybarite 
school, whom, in an evil hour, the gallant French people entrusted with the 
des'inies of their newly-enfranchised nation. 

Besides the address of the Irish Confederation, addresses were presented 
at the same time by Mr. Richard O'Gorman, Jim., from the citizens of 
Dublin, by Mr. Meagher for the Repealers of Manchester, and by Mr. 
MacDermott from the members of the Irish Confederation resident in Liver- 
pool. 

M. de Lamartine replied to the whole of these addresses in one speech, 
which, while abounding in . sentimental platitudes, and artful allusions to the 
reciprocity of friendly feelings long existing between France and Ireland, 
and avowing that they " belonged to no party in Ireland, or elsewhere, 
except that which contends for justice, for liberty, and for the happiness of 
the Irish people," went on to declare that it was their " desire to remain 
at peace with all nations that are involved in internal disputes, not being 
competent either to judge them or prefer some of them to others," &c. 

At the conclusion of his speech, M. de Lamartine again ihanked the 
deputation, who then withdrew. 

The interview had been originally fixed for the previous Saturday, but 
was deferred till Monday, on account of a division in the provisional gov- 
ernment as to the reply which should be given. Ledru Rollin was for 
sending instant assi-tance to Ireland, but Lamartine desired to give the 
same answer as was given to the Poles. 

His answer was, of course, highly appreciated by the persecutoi s of the 
Poles and the Irish. Such was the comfort derived therefrom by the British 
Government, that, before the week was out, extracts from it were ostenta- 
tiously placarded on the walls of every police-barrack in Ireland. 

But, notwithstanding the oracular utterances of her lackadaisical figure- 
head, France had many earnest sympathizers with the cause of Irish liberty, 
and among these the first to proffer their aid was 

THE UNITED IRISH CLUB. 

This body, consisting of a number of the Irish resident in Paris, waited 
upon Mr. O'Brien and his associates on their arrival in the city, and 
presented them with an address warmly complimentary in expression, and 
•concluding in these words : — 



THE IB ISH CLUB. 121 



" We offer 3-011, gentlemen, our hearts, our hands, our lives, to assist 
you in this struggle. 

"John Patrick Leonard, President. 
"Lane, Vice-President. 
" O'Ryan, Cashin, Fitzgerald, 
"Higgins, Nesbitt, Marron, 
" Farrell, &c, &c." 

The following reply of the deputation was read by Mr. O'Brien: — 

"We receive with profound satisfaction the address you have presented 
to us. 

" Let us share the affection and confidence of those who love Ireland. 
Every new proof of sympathy renders us more able to serve the cause of 
our country. The satisfaction which we feel arises above all from the fact, 
that we have found there are in Paris, Irishmen who are determined to 
unite their efforts to those of the Irish people, in reconquering the national 
independence. Though we have been in France but a few days, we have, 
nevertheless, seen and heard enough to have the conviction that the French 
nation is deeply moved by the indignities and sufferings we have endured. 
We have seen and heard enough to feel assured that, were Ireland to 
demand assistance, France would be ready to send 50,000 of her bravest 
citizens to fight with her for liberty. We offer to the French our sincere 
thanks for their generous sympathy. That sympathy may be to us later a 
great assistance; but we feel thac the liberty of Ireland should be conquered 
by the energy, the devotion, and the courage, of her own children. Without 
the manifestation of these virtues, liberty, if even acquired, would offer no 
guarantee of durability. 

"Fellow-countrymen, you know what are our views. We are happy to 
find that you are ready to second them. We have not yet ceased to hope 
that the great question now depending between the English government and 
the people of Ireland may be settled by conciliatory means; but the best 
way of attaining that desirable end is to follow the example given us by 
our fathers in 1782, by firmly organizing a field of action the most vigorous, 
and the most energetic. 

" We have already advised our fellow-countrymen to prepare themselves 
for the contest by procuring arms and habituating themselves to the use of 
them. We give you to-day the same advice, and it is to men of tried valor 
that we address ourselves. We do not wish to have with us but men who 
are ready to die on the scaffold, or on the field of battle. We learn with 
extreme pleasure that many of you fought in the first rank with the heroes 



122 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

of the barricades of February 24. In that devotion to the cause of liberty 
which you pushed so far as to hazard your lives in a contest which could 
bring you no personal advantage, we see the pledge of that heroism which 
you will show with an equal, if not with a greater ardor, if it be necessary 
to fight for the liberty of Ireland. We accept the acknowledgement, the 
fraternal concurrence which you offer us. Your position here puts it at the 
same time in your power to serve your country with efficaciousness. Extend 
your association. See that it embraces all the patriot Irish inhabiting France. 
Accustom yourselves to military exercises, and the study of strategy. Fra- 
ternize with the Irish officers in the French service; their experience will 
second your efforts. Merit the sympathy of the French who surround you. 

'•Act on the public opinion of France, through the press, and by all the 
means in your power. Glorify by your example the name and the character 
of your country, in this the centre of European civilization and universal 
liberty. 

"We have in France brave, active and intelligent friends; in Germany 
we have friends — we have friends in Belgium, in Rome, and in Spain — we 
possess numerous and influential ones in America. All these friends should, 
without delay, organize themselves into local associations, with an object 
analogous to that which we propose to you. Every patriot Irishman inhab- 
.ting a foreign country should consider himself as a missionary of liberty for 
his country. Let us enclose England in a circle of nations desiring the 
freedom of Ireland, prepared to sustain her morally and physically, to restore 
to her her national rights. Let Irishmen, especially, show that they possess 
all the virtues necessary to give her the dignity of a nation. Before aspiring 
to be free, we should show that we deserve to be so. Let us also prove 
that we have resolved, and are capable of conquering and preserving the 
liberty of our country. 

" In this spirit we receive your address with pride, and with acknowl- 
edgement, as a proof that you are determined to second us, not in a secret 
conspiracy, but in a loyal and courageous effort to restore to Ireland her 
natioLal independence. 

" (Signed) William Smith O'Brien. Thomas F. Meagher. 
"Martin M'Dermott. Richard O'Gorman. 

"Edw. Hollywood. Eugene O'Reilly." 



MEAGHER IX PARIS. 123 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



MEAGHER IN PARIS. 

" We'll show them French authority for wearing of the Green." 

Old Song. 

A DISTINGUISHED FRANCO-IRISHMAN. 

John Patrick Leonard was probably the best known Irishman domiciled 
in Paris lor over half a century. He was born in 1814, in the Cove of Cork. 
While yet under age he emigrated to France, and entered the College of 
the Sorbonne, with the intention of studying for the medical profession. He, 
however, altered his plans subsequently, and became an instructor of the 
English language. In a short time thereafter, he was appointed Professor of 
English Language and Literature in the Municipal College Chaptal of the 
Paris University. He held this position for a quarter of a century, after 
• hich time he was appointed to a similar office in the Naval College, St. 
R:«be, from which, in his seventieth year, he retired on a pension. 

Duiing the Franco-Prussian war, Mr. Leonard served as Inspector-General 
of the Ambulance Corps, Army of the Northwest, and received the Cross of 
the Legion of Honor — "for personal services on the field of battle." In 
addition he received the decoration of the Cross of Geneva, and, a few years 
before his death, the honorable literary distinction of being created an 
"Officier d'Academie" was conferred upon him. He was well known acd 
esteemed in Paris society, many of his pupils being among the highest iu 
the land. He entertained a great affection for Marshal MacMahon, and the 
illustrious old hero liked him better than any Irishman in Paris. When, in 
1-860, Ireland presented a sword of honor of Irish manufacture to Marshal 
MacMahon, at the camp near Chalons, Mr. Leonard, as chairman of the 
deputation, made the presentation speech. The other deputies were Dr. 
Sigerson and Mr. T. D. Sullivan, of Dublin. John Mitchel, who had just 
then arrived in Paris from America, was invited to make one of the party. 
In his "Journal," published at the time, he gave an interesting account of 
the presentation ceremonies, which were participated in by several distin- 
guished officers of Irish extraction, specially invited by the Marshal for the 
occasion. 

Mr. Leonard was a warm personal friend of John Mitchel and his family. 
He acted as chief mourner at the funeral of the patriot's eldest daughter, 
Henrietta, who, in the absence of her parents from Paris, died suddenly at 



124 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

the Convent of the Sacre Coeur, where, a short time before, she had taktu 
the veil as a sister of Charity. She was buried in the cemetery of Mount 
Parnasse. 

During the greater portion of his career in Paris, Mr. Leonard was a 
correspondent of the Irish national press, and through him every incident of 
interest to Ireland transpiring in France was duly recorded. An esteemed 
associate of the " Anciens Irlandais" — the descendants of the old "Irish Bri- 
gade" and the "Irish Legion" of Napoleon's time — he acted as their 
accredited chronicler, performing the duties of an old Gaelic Chief Seanachie, 
recording their military services on the battle-field and their promotions to 
important offices of State in civil life; their births and deaths and their 
" Patrick's Day Festivities "— where — 

"Up, erect, with nine times nine — 'Hip, hip, hip — Hurrah!' 
Drank 'Erin Slainte geal go bragh!' those exiles far away." 

Himself an ardent, life-long lush Nationalist, Mr. Leonard had ever a 
warm welcome for his fellow-countrymen of kindred feelings, who, by the 
vicissitudes of fortune, were compelled to seek a temporary asylum in the 
city of his adoption. 

He died on the 6th of August. 1889. His funeral, which took place on 
the 9th of that month, was attended by a numerous and highly representa- 
tive body of his friends and admirers. The remains, escorted by a detachment 
of the 76th Begiment of the Line, as a guard of honor, were conveyed to 
the Crypt of the Church of St. Francois de Sales for temporary interment, 
until arrangements could be made for having them transferred to Ireland — 
in accordance with the faithful exile's expressed desire to be buried with 
his forefathers. 

His wish was sacredly observed. On Sunday, October 27th, his body 
arrived in Cork from Paris, in charge of his fellow-townsman, Mr. C. G. 
Doran. The coffin was brought from the quay to the College of the 
Presentation Brothers, where it lay until ihe afternoon when, escorted by 
the Mayor and many leading citizens of Cork, it was conveyed to Cove. 
There a funeral procession was formed which procet ded to the ancient 
churchyard of Barrymore, where the remains of this sterling patriot were 
consigned to "kindred Irish clay." 

Mr. Leonard was, for many years, engaged in preparing a record of his 
recollections which will be published by his daughter and only surviving 
Child. It will appear in both French and English. It is entitled 
"Reminiscences of Half a Century in France." 

During the author's lifetime he published occasional extracts from the 



A mBTlSQUlBHED FBANCO'MISUMAN. 123 

forthcoming volume, one of which gives the following interesting account 
$i Meagher's visit to Paris, in 1848: 

RECOLLECTIONS OF THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

11 Meagher was only three or four years out of his teens when he came to 
Paris with the deputation in April, 1848. It was, I believe, his fir3t visit 
to the great city, and we were constantly together during his short stay. 
There was nothing particularly remarkable in his personal appearance except 
his large, blue eyes, beaming with intellect and wit. He was slightly in- 
clined to embonpoint, but his strong, well-built frame, and his elastic step, 
Showed that, though at times he seemed listless and lazy, he had, as he 
proved fully after, great physical activity and endurance when necessary. 

"The electric atmosphere of the revolutionary city constantly roused 
him from that apparent apathy in which he indulged at times. Alive to 
•everything in the changing scenes around, his imperfect knowledge of 
French never prevented him from understanding or guessing at what was 
said. We wandered together about the city, visiting the churches, the hos- 
pitals, the salons of the rich and the hovels of the poor, mixing and con- 
versing with people of all classes and opinions, from the millionaire to the 
ouvrier. 

"We, of course, went often to the theatre, and our first visit to the 
celebrated Theatre Francais I never shall forget. I was on guard as a full 
private in the National Guard (there were no regular soldiers in the city,) 
and was the sentinel at the door, when my two noble countrymen, William 
Smith O'Brien and Thomas Francis Meagher, came. A friend relieved me, 
and I went in with my two friends. We took our places in the orchestra 
quite close to the stage. I never go to that theatre since without thinking 
of that memorable night when I sat between two noble patriots, who a 
few months after were condemned to be hanged and quartered, and saved 
only ior that worse fate, exile, of which the greatest poet living said: 

' Le proscrit est un mort san tombeau.'' 

Men possessing then everything that gives a charm to life — health, fortune, 
Consideration, family, and friends. The greatest actress of our times, Rachel, 
played ' Phedre,' the part in which she won the highest place in her art, 
and which she ouly consented to play in after studying for years. We lis- 
tened to Racine's noble tragedy with rapt attention and admiration, and 
never, perhaps, did the unrivalled actress do more justice to the part and 
excite more enthusiasm and applause. But there was a sequel to the great 
tragedy, and one that thrilled the whole audience and deeply moved my 



226 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FEANCIS MEAGHER. 

two friends. A few minutes after the piece was ended the curtain rose 
and Rachel advanced slowly towards the footlights and began Rouget de 
Lisle's immortal 'Marseillaise.' It was neither singing nor declamation, but 
it was something so real and entrancing that it seemed beyond art and 
above criticism. Close beside her hung the tricolor flag. When she reached 
those soul-stirring words, ' Amour sacre de la patriej she seized it, and, rais- 
ing it on high, gave the last stanza with such feeling, passion and emotion 
that the audience rose, and a burst of thundering applause shook the whole 
house. Meagher was greatly excited, and must have looked as he did when 
he led his brave Irish soldiers to the charge, in civil war, alas! and far 
from the land he loved and from which he was an exile. For an hour 
after we spoke only of the ' Marseillaise,' forgetting ' Phedre ' and the great 
tragedy entirely. 

" That wonderful actor, Frederick Lemaitre, was at that time playing 
4 Robert Macaire ' — that cynical photography of vice, degradation and impos- 
ture, that had such a baneful effect on public moral* that it was suppressed 
for some time. Nothing astonished Meagher more than the acting of the great 
artist, and little escaped him in the allusion made to the vices of the great 
people and the degradation of the lower classes. Frederic, as he was called, 
had not yet played the part of the Chiffonier de Paris, in which he was 
still more remarkable; and appropos of that well known piece I shall make 
a short digression. 

"I was present at the first representation and in a box next to the one 
!n which Rachel sat deeply moved by the great actor's wonderful personi- 
fication of a character that threatens to become obsolete at present. In a 
most dramatic passage of the piece Rachel advanced, her pale face beaming 
with emotion, and addressing Lepeinere, an eminent actor, she said: '•Mon ami, 
fest ce que j'ai vu de plus beau dans ma vie ' — ' My friend, that is the finest 
thing I ever saw in my life' — wcrds that Lemaitre, when he heard them, 
declared that he prized far beyond the applause of the public or the praise 
of the critics. 

" The real chiffoniers did not escape Meagher's notice, however, and one 
night, on returning from the theatre, we came upon one. He was at the 
door of one of the great restaurants on the Boulevard des Italiens, with 
his lantern in one hand and his 'Aotte,' or basket on his back, and was 
with his 'crochet' extracting from a heap of rubbish all sorts of strange 
things, which he tossed into his hotte — crusts of bread, bones, remains of 
fish, fowl, and vegetables — the ingredients, in fact, of that dish which Eu- 
gene Sue, in his ' Mysteries of Paris," calls ' le plat du chourrineur.' There 



BECOLLECTIONS Oi THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 127 

were old rags, old shoes, and various remnants of past splendor in the 
shape of torn lace and soiled ribbons. 

" Meagher watched the old fellow with great attention and curiosity. 
The shell of a lobster, I remember particularly attracted his notice. * Sure- 
ly,' said he, 'he wont take that.' But it went with the rest. He insisted 
that we should follow the old veteran to another heap, where we saw, wiih 
some variety in the contents, the same operation repeated. The lobster shell 
always surprised Meagher, and at last he begged me to ask the chiffonier 
what he would do with it. I said something, but got no answer. He said 
gruffly, and I modify the expression, ' Ces zacres Anglais fourent le nez datis 
tout.'' I said, 'We are not Anglais, we aie IrlandaisS ' Hollandaisf asked 
the old fellow, (he never heard of the Irlandais). ' Tons iv rogues,'' (all 
drunkards,) and he jogged off anything but sober himself. 

" Meagher philosophized for an hour after on the old night prowler, and 
wondered why there were no such industrious people in Ireland. In the 
street, in the clubs, in the Chamber of Deputies — everywhere — he found 
subject for shrewd remarks, and often comic and witty comments on the 
speakers and actors, and comparisons with people at home. 

"On one subject he was always serious — on everything touching that 
country for which he was going to sacrifice all that were dear to him. 
His manner changed suddenly when Ireland was mentioned, and I remember 
on alluding to the famine of the previous year that his voice trembled with 
emotion and passion. ' You were happy,' he said to me, ' not to have wit- 
nessed those harrowing sights; they would have maddened you, as they 
have maddened us all.' 

"When I took leave of him at the Nonhern station I did not say adieu, 
but au revoir. and in Ireland; I little thought we should never meet again. 
From his prison cell he wrote me two letters, one of which I consider it 
my duty to publish to-day.* It will throw some light on the past and a 
further halo over the memory of one who, though he has for a grave but 
some undefined place under the dark current of the Mississippi, will be re- 
membered when the pompous tombs raised over some of the enemies of his 
race and country will have mouldered into dust." 



♦The letters referred to were dated, respectively, November 27th, 184:?, and July 9tii, 
1849. They will appear further on In this Memoir. 



128 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE DUBLIN CLUB-MEN. — APRIL, 1848. 



Clubs were trumps In "Ninety-three" — 

With the gaunt Parisians; 
And with us, too, — while yet we 

Had our dazzliDg visions. — Mangan. 



While Meagher and his associate deputies were fraternizing with the 
revolutionary clubs of Paris, familiarizing themselves with the methods by 
which those "radical-reformers" attained their object; and, notwithstanding 
Lamartine's discouraging announcement, becoming assured tha', when Ireland 
called upon her ancient ally for armed assistance, it would be promptly 
afforded her; — their compatriots in Dublin were earnestly preparing for the 
test which would demonstrate whether or not they were worthy claimants 
of freemen's sympathy or freemen's blood. Every day the clubs were 
extending their ramifications over the city. Every day the members were 
becoming more disciplined, hopeful and resolute. For, in view of the start- 
ling events which succeeded each other so rapidly in those days, — when no 
man could foresee what the next hour might bring forth, — those true- 
hearted fellows entertained a firm conviction that an armed revolution was 
impending in Ireland, and, that, as in the continental countries, the initia- 
tive would be taken in the capital. But, whether by the deliberately-planned 
orders of their trusted leaders, by some unforeseen accident, or by a sud- 
den aggression on the part of the government — the fight was to be preci- 
pitated, they knew not; neither did they seem to care much. They felt 
that thev were to act as the "forlorn-hope" in a desperate struggle, where 
many of them were sure to fall; but they were confident of eventual suc- 
cess. True, they could not aspire to emulate the battle-nurtured heroes of 
Paris, who, from childhood were accustomed to the use of arms and the 
sound of the "Tocsin;" and who, moreover, had well-grounded reliance on 
the sympathetic patriotism of their fellow-countrymen in the army: Yet, 
surely, they would have to encounter no greater difficulties than those which 
were met and surmounted by the people of Milan within the week just 
passed; men who, though as systematically deprived of arms by their for- 
eign rulers as ever the Irish had been, nevertheless, with such weapons 
as were at hand, maintained a five-days' street-right in a fortified city, 
against an Austrian garrison of twenty thousand soldiers, and eventually 



THE DUBLIN CLUB-MEN. 12b 

chased their tyrant, Eadetzky, and the remnant of his shattered battalions 
through the cannon guarded gates of their redeemed city. 

" Clarendon," they reasoned, k ' was no more formidable a tyrant than 
Eadetzky — at least when fighting was to be done, — and that Irishmen were 
the inferiors of Italians in strength or courage could not be admitted. Why, 
then, should they not succeed as well as their fellow-victims of foreign 
misrule — when stimulated by the same passions — love of their native land, 
and detestation of her oppressors?''' 

Such were the sentiments that actuated the club-men of the metropolis 
in these exhilirating times. It is true, that, since the fearful scenes wit- 
nessed in Dublin after the suppression of the last attempt at armed revolt, 
under Robert Emmet, the young men of no other portion of Ireland grew 
up under such a habitual obedience to the " law " as did those who, born 
under the shadow of the Castle, and, terrorized over since childhood by its 
ubiquitous and brutalized emissaries — policemen and detectives, — could only 
give vent to their outraged feelings in suppressed maledictions, seldom resist- 
ing official aggression individually, and hardly ever making a combined stand- 
up-fight against a detachment of the "force" — such as was a habitual 
occurrence in nearly every other portion of the island. 

But the generation grown to maturity in Dublin since the days of Orange 
ascendency, were fast emancipating themselves from the antiquated notiots 
entertained for the semblance of constituted authority by their submissive 
progenitors. For "Zato," in the abstract, they entertained no more reverence 
than their compatriots ''west of the Shannon." and it is highly probable, 
that, on a suitable occasion, they would show their ;t faith by good works " 
in dealing with the corporeal impersonations of their childhood's " bug-a boo.'''' 
However, the clubs were not, by any means, recruited exclusively from 
natives of Dublin. A considerable number of their members hailed from the 
provinces. This was especially true of the laborers and mechanics, who 
came to the metropolis in search of more remunerative employment than 
could be attained in their several homes. The more intelligent of these 
latter, through corresponding with their former associates throughout the 
country, impressed them with their own ardent opinions and hopes, and 
served as powerful auxiliaries to the national press in disseminating, through- 
out the sphere of their influence, a spirit of enthusiastic self-reliance, and 
many practical suggestions for local preparation. 

In some measure, also, those correspondents confirmed the general im- 
pression felt all over the island, that the signal for the national uprising 
would be given from Dublin. 
B 



130 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

i 

Though the working classes constituted the majority of the club-men, 
yet almost every rank and profession had its representatives among them — 
artists, clerks, shop-keepers, merchants, writers, etc. Among the most effec- 
tive organizations in the city was the Student's Club. 

This club was founded by the Medical Students of Dublin, but its ranks 
were subsequently recruited from students of the other learned professions. 
Among its original members were several whose names were afterwards prom- 
inently distinguished in science, art, and literature, as well as for their 
fidelity to Ireland, and their sufferings and sacrifices endured for her sake. 
Dr. Thomas Antisel, who was president of the club, and who had the honor 
of being among the first to figure in "Her Majesty's Hue-and-Cry "— after 
the suspension of the Habeus Corpus Act in July, 1848 — ranks among the 
most eminent men in his profession in the National Capital, of which city 
he has, for more than forty years, been the most honored Irish-born resi 
dent. His friend and fellow-patriot, John Savage, secretary of the club, 
while yet but a boy, acted a man's part in the defiles of the Cummeraghs 
as the most esteemed and faithful associate of John O'Mahony, when most 
of his Dublin comrades were scattered, or in prison; and when driven to 
self-expatriation, won a literary reputation in America of which any man 
might be proud. 

Richard Dalton Williams, (" Shamrock " of the Nation,) that most ver- 
satile of Irish poets, and next to "The Celt"— the most popular singer 
of his time,— whose beautiful tribute to the "Sister of Charity" charmed 
the hearts of a Castle-packed jury, and saved him from the fate of his 
noble comrade, Kevin Izod O'Dogherty, (who, after baffling the hounds of the 
"Law" in two trials, was finally hunted down and sent to the Antipodes — 
to win fame and fortune,) he, also, was another of that gifted band who 
aspired to emulate the "heroic students of the Paris Ecole Poly 'technique. " 

The objects of the new organization were clearly set forth in the ' fol- 
lowing spirit-stirring appeal to their compatriots: 

"Address or the Medical Students of Dublin to all Irish Students 
of Science or Art, adopted at a Meeting of the Students' Club, 
held at the Northumberland Buildings, Eden Quay, Tuesday, 
April 4, 1848. John Savage Presiding.* 

"Fellow Students: A war is waging, at this hour, all over Europe, 
♦From " Ninety-eight and Forty eight," page 393 



TEE DUBLIN CLUB MEN. 131 

between Intelligence and Labor on the one side, and Despotism and Force 
on the other. Citizen-soldiers are, in every state of Europe, being substi- 
tuted for standing armies, constitutions for the sovereign's caprice, or repub- 
lics for monarchy itself. You have read, in common with all the world, 
the records of these stirring events. You have glowed over the annals of 
the gallantry displayed by the students and workmen of Paris — the students 
and people of Belgium — and the students and burghers of Vienna. Has it 
nevtr oocurred to you that you too, live in a country sorely in need of a 
revolution? — and that you might, with advantage to her and glory to your- 
selves, imitate the heroic examples of the French Ecole Polyteehnique and 
the Austrian Ecole des Beaux Arts? For us, the medical students of Dublin, 
all of us of your own class and age, we have unanimously come to that 
conclusion, and hereby invite you to unite with us in resolve, and frater- 
nize with us in action. 

" We have seen the famine — we have lived in the presence of the pes- 
tilence. "We have inquired into the origin of both, and we find that both 
have resulted from the gross misgovernment and spoliation of the victims, 
our brother Irishmen. We find that this country has been, for fifty years 
under the sole control of state quacks, sent hither from London, and falla- 
ciously gazetted as wise and lawful authorities; we find that, as the number 
of officials has increased, s=o has the national mortality; and we have traced 
a distinct connection of effect and cause in these two circumstances. We, 
therefore, have sworn in our souls, and by our hopes of honor, fame, and 
peace, that these poisonous "foreign bodies" shall be excised from the land. 
We ask you to concur in this oath, and to prepare to carry it into effect; 
we ask you to enlist with us in the ranks of the people, not to create a 
riot, but to achieve a revolution. 

"You know all the facts of the case as well as we do. You are numer- 
ous, energetic, and supple as young ash. The students of Paris and Vienna 
are not braver of heart, or stronger of hand. You are all accustomed to 
the use of arms, and most of you are armed. There stands England, with 
the Castle at her back — here Ireland before the entrance of her ancient 
senate-house. Join with us — join with us at onoe — and may God defend 
the right! 

"We are brief, for time is precious, and we deem it better to make 
gunpowder than orations. Let us coalesce in an "Irish Student's Club," grasp 
each other's hands, know each other's souls, and, while the stranger's cav- 



132 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

airy are told to whet their sabres, let us also brace our spirits for the 
coming day of Freedom — the flashing flags of Freedom — 

•The victor glaive, 

The mottoes brave — 
May we be there to read them! 

That glorious noon, 

God send it soon. 
Hurrah for Human Freedom ! • 

"R. D. Williams, Chairman of the Committee." 



CHAPTER XXV. 

.REVIVAL OF AN OLD IRISH INDUSTRY. 

" The very subtlest eloquence 

That injured men can show, 
Is the pathos of a pike-head, 

And the logic of a bow. 
Hopes built upon fine talking 

Are like castles built on sand; 
But the pleadings of cold iron 
Not a tyrant can withstand."— Maky. 

Two days after the departure of the Irish deputation to France, an 
extraordinary meeting of the Confederation was held in the Music Hall, 
Dublin. It was "extraordinary"' in more than one respect. It was the first 
of its kind to which the clubs marched in regular order, and the unusual sight 
of hundreds of resolute men tramping, with cadenced step through the streets 
of the capital, at nightfall, created considerable excitement among the groups 
of citizens congregated at various points along the approaches to the place 
of meeting, in the immediate vicinity of which the shops and other places 
of business had been closed somewhat earlier than usual. 

This precautionary step was taken in consequence of a rumor, — which 
had been extensively circulated during that afternoon, to the effect that the 
meeting would be interfered with, or prevented by the Castle authorities. 
The appearance of the clubs in semi-military order led to the belief that, 
if any such attempt should be made it would be promptly resisted, and, 
perhaps, the train fired which would result in a universal upheaval of the 
revolutionary element known to be ready for ignition. 



BEVIVAL OF AN OLD IRISH INDUSTRY. 133 

An immense concourse of people had, from an early hour, assembled in 
the neighborhood of the Music Hall. They cheered the clubs most heartily 
as they came up in succession and filed into the edifice, and remained on 
the street until the termination of the meeting — awaiting possible contin- 
gencies. 

Inside the hall the scene was most imposing. The gallery was filled with 
ladies. A few moments before the opening of the proceedings, Charles Gavan 
Duffy entered. On his arm leant a tall, stately, and most beautiful lady, 
in white — whose exquisitely chiselled features, dark eyes and hair, and brow 
— fair and lofty as that of the Athenian deity typified in ivory by Phidias, 
would have commanded admiration in a less discriminative and excitable 
assemblage than that to whom she then constituted for a moment the centre 
of silent attraction. But the silence was only momentary. A cry of u Spe- 
ranza!" "Speranza!"' brougnt forth such a storm of enthusiastic cheers 
as fairly shook the house from floor to roof. Again, and again it was 
repeated, the fair recipient gracefully acknowledging the homage paid her 
genius and patriotism by her warm-hearted and exulting countrymen. I 
shall never forget that soul-thrilling scene. It won my lasting admiration 
for the Dublin boys. I have often, since, thought that, had the hand which, 
a few months later, penned Ireland's call to arms — '-Jacta Alea Est,'"* 
been raised on that night with the same intent, how promptly the signal 
w T ould be responded to. 

The meeting had been convened for the special purpose of indorsing the 
principles enunciated in the prosecuted speeches of O'Brien and Meagher. 
But the speakers went even further, and repeated the original offences in a 
more aggravated form. For instance, Mr. Duffy, in moving the adoption of 
the resolution " that the proscribed speeches be printed and circulated through 
Ireland," continued as follows : 

"We cannot undertake to drive a coach-and-six through their prosecu- 
tion. But, Avith God's help and yours, we will drive something better through 
it. We will drive through it the will of the Irish people. We will drive 



•"JaCTA Alea Est," ("The Rubicon is Passed,"; was written by Lady Wilde, and 
printed in the "Nation" bearing date July 23tb, 1S48, just after the Ilabeus Corpus Act 
was suspended. The Castle authorities no sooner read it, than they ordered the police 
to break into the "Nation" office, seize all the printed copies of the paper, the type 
forms, &c, and cart them off to the Castle. Thus it occurred, that the article was never 
seen by those it was intended for. It subsequently formed pait of the indictment on 
which Mr. Duffy was tried for " treason-felony." 



134 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

through it an elected Council of National Safety. We will drive through it 
the green banners of a hundred thousand National Guards." 

This was bold language, when the speaker was well aware that the 
" Convention Act " of 1793, (passed by the so-called independent Irish Par- 
liament) should be trampled down before a " Council of National Safety " 
could be elected — or, if elected, should dare assemble; and that the laws 
prohibiting the use of military phraseology, should be treated in like man- 
ner, before a single squad of an " Irish National Guard " could be put 
through its facings. But, all the same, Charles Gavan Duffy used the words 
deliberately, and was prepared to face all the consequences attendant on 
an attempt to carry out their purport in tangible form. He might have 
entertained some hope that the government would shrink from facing an 
armed revolution, and be driven to the less perilous alternative of lestoring 
her Legislative Independence to Ireland; but he did not trust much to it, 
though the daily accessions to the national cause of many influential men 
of the professional and literary classes gave him grounds for hoping that, 
in time, the authorities would have to yield to the just demands of an (al- 
most) united people. There were two classes, however, whose adhesion to 
the national cause not even the most sanguine of constitutional reformers 
could entertain a hope of. 

These were the Landlords and the Orangemen. 

For over two centuries the landlords constituted the ''English garrison." 
Through them Ireland had been ruled in accordance with English policy, 
and against the interests of her rightful owners. As members of the Irish 
Parliament, they enacted and enforced the atrocious " Penal Laws," and 
since they sold that Parliament, their course in the Imperial Legislature 
had ever been in accordance with their own sordid interests and those of 
the government which upheld them. At home, as Justices of the Peace, 
appointed by the English executive, they administered the oppressive laws 
which their representatives ^elped to enact. They constituted the Grand 
Juries, and, as such, regulated local taxation. They named the Sheriffs; 
they were ex-ofncio members of the Boards of Poor Law Guardians, and could, 
in many instances, control the action of those bodies. Finally, they nominated 
the candidates for the constabulary, — many of whom were their own spu- 
rious offspring, and the balance sons or other relatives of their slavish 
dependents. 

No other garrison in the world was so well paid as those Irish land- 
lords. In return for their manifold services, their alien employers upheld 
them in the perpetual plunder of their discontented victims. In their interest, 



REVIVAL OF AN OLD IRISH INDUSTRY. 135 

as well as in that of their own monopolist manufacturers, they enacted laws 
and formed combinations to destroy Irish trade, so that the cultivation of 
the soil should be the only resource of the vast majority of the working 
people, and thus the landlord be enabled to extort the utmost price his 
tenants could pay — and keep body and soul together. 

Surely there existed no reasonable hope that those leagued plunderers, 
whose interests, — and very existence on Irish soil — were so mutually enter- 
twined, could ever be dissevered, save by cutting both up at the roots. 

As for the gratuitous opposition of the Orangemen to their country's 
claim to freedom, it could only be accounted for by a spirit of innate ma- 
levolence, engendered by intolerence, and fostered by ignorance, and by the 
poor privilege accorded them of insulting with impunity their disarmed 
Catholic neighbors. 

It was palpable, therefore, that in any caculations of national success 
based upon a union of all Irishmen, those two classes of irreconcilables 
should be counted out — and assigned to their accustomed place in the ranks 
of the foreign enemy. 

John Mitchel's speech at this meeting was even more pointed and sug- 
gestive than Mr. Duffy's. Referring to his share of the indicted articles, 
he said: 

;> For myself, depend upon it, whatever I have published, written, or 
spoken, I will stand by: the government shall have no trouble in procuring 
evidence. I tell them I did publish those prosecuted articles, and that T:hey 
are ' seditious libels.' And sedition, let me tell you, is a small matter — 
I mean to commit ' high treason,' and to ask you all to commit it too. I 
tell you to be prepared to rise. There is no need to name the day now — 
but on an early day, or night — and to smash through that Castle, and 
tear down the union flag that insults our city." 

In another portion of the same speech he dwelt on the urgent necessity 
of the people arming: 

" I conjure you severally, in the name of God that you get guns. A 
good, serviceable rifle, I understand, can be purchased for three pounds; 
and those of you who may not be able to afford that, ought to provide 
yourselves, every man, with a sound ash pole, seven or eight feet long. 
I suppose you know what use that may be turned to. At all events, what 
I wish to convey to you is merely this — that speeches, and resolutions, aud 
reports of your Council, will not avail you in *he least, unless you all 
have arms and are prepared to turn out." 



MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



AN EFFECTIVE OBJECT LESSON. 

Towards the close of the meeting, an enterprising hardware manufacturer 
presented Mr. Mitchel with a specimen of his handicraft, which the recipi- 
ent, forthwith, held up for the inspection of the audience. Prepared as the 
startled assemblage had been by the plain-spoken orator's previous reference 
to the " poor man's weapon," the exhibition of a veritible " Irish Pike," as 
a palpable illustration of his treasonable exhortation, was something they 
did not expect to witness quite so soon. Yet. there it was, and no mistake 
— a shining, two-edged blade of polished steel, twelve inches long, with a 
strong, sharp hook, attached to a flanged socket ready to be securely fas- 
tened to the handle with screws. The audacity of the act — the reminis- 
cences it evoked — and the lesson of practical patriotism it taught, had an 
electric effect 0:1 the half-entranced crowd of " Hereditary Kebels." And 
such a shout of exultation and defiance as greeted the " Symbol of "98," 
rang out as sent the hot blood leaping through the veins of every individ- 
ual, man and woman in the hall. It was re-echoed by the eager and excit- 
able crowd on the street, outside, although its purport was not then 
altogether comprehended — save, that it had the genuine ring of battle, 
which, whenever heard, intuitively finds a sympathetic response in the 
Celtic heart within the sphere of its action. 

When the excitement had subsided sufficiently to enable him to be heard, 
Mitchel, in that cool and earnest tone which carried conviction to his sym- 
pathetic hearers, calmly observed : 

"I do not see why the exhibition of a single pike should cause such 
a commotion here to-night. Why, before a week is over you will see them 
exposed for sale in smiths' windows as freely as horse-shoes. In fact, I 
would like to see pikes exposed for sale up an stalls, in the streets, like 
books, or under the porticos of the Bank of Ireland, where umbrellas are 
sold in rainy weather." 

The audience cheered most enthusiastically; but, to many present, the 
statement that " before the week was out, pikes would be publicly exposed 
for sale in Dublin" — though an event most ardently desired — seemed "too 
good to be true." Nevertheless, within the time specified, Mitchel's hopeful 
prophecy was, literally, fufllled, for a brisk trade in the novel article had 
suddenly sprung up; after the lapse of half a century the good old fashion 
of their grandfathers was revived by the rising generation; smiths and cut- 
lers had their hands full; and such a demand for seven-foot ash poles was 
never before known to the proprietors of the timber-yards located on the 



REVIVAL OF AN OLD IRISH INDUSTRY. 137 

streets leading from Thomas and James streets to the Liffy. It was a com- 
mon occurrence to meet groups of three or more marching nonchalantly 
through the busiest thoroughfares of the city with those suggestive articles 
on their shoulders. They could not surely be all intended for "peal-handles" 
— for if so the Dublin bakers must be anticipating a rise in the market, 
and laying in a stock sufficient to last for a life-time.— Yet such was the 
use to which an honest sweep told an inquisitive detective he was about 
putting 

" His darlln' kippeen of a stick." 

The authorities, however, were not so obtuse altogether as our sooty 
joker would fain have them. The contemporaneous activity in the wood and 
iron trades, was proof, "strong as a Peeler's oath," to those who could "put 
this and that together," and they lost no time in investigating the progress 
and extent of the newly-revived industry. One of their emissaries was sent 
to David Hyland — the courageous artizan who was first to appreciate the 
popular need — and instructed to negotiate for six specimens of his handi- 
craft. A few days subsequently he called for and obtained a portion of 
his order; but the smith's wife didn't like his looks, and, at her suggestion, 
he was followed and traced into the executive quarters of Dublin Castle. 
Hyland, thereupon, took measures to have his plot exposed, by causing his 
arrest when he called for the balance of the pikes ordered. But on the 
spy's trial at the Police Office, Colonel Browne, Police Commissioner, (who 
occupied a place on the bench,) publicly avowed that Kirwan, the spy in 
question, was acting under his instructions in the transaction, took all the 
odium thereof on himself, and demanded that the case be dismissed — as "the 
man Hyland had committed no crime in making pikes; neither had the 
other man committed any crime in purchasing them." It is hardly neces- 
sary to say that his suggestion was adopted. 

In the course of his observations, Colonel Browne bore official testimony 
to the extent with which pike manufacture was carried on in the metropo- 
lis. With confiding frankness he tells •* the gentlemen of the press that, he 
had undoubted information that pikes were being manufactured in various 
parts of Dublin, by hundreds and thousands," and, he insinuatingly adds, — 
"You know yourselves that pikes are made in every hole and corner." 

A few days after this exposure of "Castle patronage of Irish manufac- 
ture," the enterprising reviver of the new industry, determined on " making 
his hay while the sun shone," had a neat little swinging-sign hung over 
his door, in Charles street. Thereon, in silver gilt, was a full-size represen- 



138 



MEMOIRS OF GEM THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



tation of an Irish pike, with the accompanying legend in gold letters — on 
a green field: 



t 



DAVID HYLAND, 
PIKE-MiKER 

TO THE CASTLE. 



In the window beneath was exhibited several specimens of the " Queen 
of Weapons ;"(?) and judging from the crowds passing in and out of the 
shop, the establishment seemed to be doing a " rushing business." Nor was 
it patronized exclusivery by well-intentioned "Rebels," and Castle spies. 
The proudest Norman aristocracy in the laud was represented among its 
customers — in the person of the young Marquis of Ormonde, — the hopeful 
heir of the " House of Butler." This nobleman, mounted on a superb Irish 
hunter, created a veritable sensation, by riding through the principal streets 
of the city, armed with a pike of Hyland's manufacture, made to order, 
after the most elaborate antique pattern 

Now, had it been a scion of the rival " House of Kildare," who ven- 
tured to "cut such a shine" — then and there — people might attach some 
significance to the act, and remark that — " Bl&od will tell I" But, as the 
calculating Butlers were ever known to side with the occupants of Dublin 
Castle for the time being, this whim of the " Lord of Kilkenny " was, 
rightly, looked upon as a harmless piece of burlesque, on a par with the esca- 
pades of his cotemporary — the " scapegrace Marquis of Waterford." 

Towards the close of the week on which the above-recorded meeting 
took place, I accompanied Thomas Levin Eeilly to the office of the " United 
Irishman," for the purpose of being .introduced to John MitcheL On that 
occasion Mr. Mitchel presented me with the pike which created ; such a sen, 
satrun a few nights before. He advised me to "cut off the ]hQok"--=-as it 
was "useless weight." But I told him "I'd rather .not=- 1 as Its historical 
iSUjyjcs.tvveness couuter-bakmced .the weight.." 



TEHEE VETERANS OF 'NINETY-EIGHT. 139 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THREE VETERANS OF 'NINETY-EIGHT. 

Then here's their memory — may it be 

For us a guiding light,— 
To cheer our strife for liberty, 

And teach us to Unite.— Ingram. 

In 1S48, there were still living in Dublin some representatives of the 
heroic band who, fifty years before, had marched under the "Harp without 
a Crown," and who, true to their principles, were still among the most 
active of their associates in making preparations to renew the old fight for 
Ireland and liberty. 

It was my good fortune to make the acquaintance and secure the friend- 
ship of three of these old " United- Men." Two of the veterans, — Mr. 
Patrick Gaynor, and Mr. John Smith, were members of the Swift Club, 
and though both of them had passed their seventy-fifth year at the time, 
their ardcr in enlisting recruits, and instilling their own hopeful spirit into 
their hearts, won them the admiration and esteem of their fellow-patriots. 
They were personally known to the great majority of Dublin Confederates, 
for they had been residents of the city for a great many years, though 
neither was born therein. 

Mr. Ga}mor was a Kildare man, who was among the first to respond 
to the preconcerted signal for a general rising, on the memorable 23rd of 
May, 1798. On the day following ha marched in the van of Dr. John 
Esmond's insurgent column of pikemen, when they stormed and sacked 
Prosperous. 

As a memento of that, to him, eventful day, Patrick Gaynor received a 
musket-ball in the groin — (which he carried to his grave). He was borne 
from the burning town by his comrades in arms, and conveyed to a place 
of safety, where his wound was attended to until healed — outwardly at 
least. But he was lamed for life. Still he was more fortunate than his 
gallant leader; for Dr. Esmonde fell into the enemy's hands at Rathcoole, 
and was sent to Dublin — where he was speedily hanged on Carlisle Bridge, 

— not many yards from where stands the statue of that other noble "Rebel" 

— William Smith O'Brien, —an incentive to future generations of patriots, 



140 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

and a warning to the tyrant9 who imagine they can drown a liberty-loving 
people's aspirations in the blood of their best and bravest: — 

My masters! Oh, my masters! 

There's not our Isle within — 
A single growing plant that thrives 

Like "Disaffection'8 Sin." 

Mr. Gaynor was the most implacable enemy of England I ever met. 
His hatred of the country and all appertaining thereto was intense and 
unceasing. It seemed to be incorporated in his nature, and assuredly it was 
the most cherished article in his political creed, as it was the most emphat- 
ical sign of his love of Ireland which he could manifest. I was, at first, 
iuclined to think this passionate vindictiveness a sign of mental abberration 
caused by morbidly brooding over the horrible scenes he had witnessed in 
his early manhood, and felt more inclined to pity the old man than to 
sympatize with his ebulitions of temper; but on reflecting that every pain- 
ful step the old hero took for the preceding half-century served to remind 
him of the black debt of hatred he owed the hereditary murderers of his 
race, my respect for his consistent principles was as sincere as was my 
commisseration for his physical sufferings, and my admiration for the stern 
old patriot grew warmer with each succeeding interview I had with him — 
and they were frequent and many during the four months of my stay in 
Dublin. 

How long Mr. Gaynor survived the disappointment of our enthusiastic 
hopes of '48, I do not know, as, in reply to my enquiry about him when 
in Dublin thirteen years later, I only learned that he had died long before, 
steadfast in his principles to the end — a typical 'Ninety-eight man. Hq 
sleeps in the land of his birth and love. 

Gor> Rest his Soul! 

Mr. Gaynor's compatriot and most devoted friend, John Smith, was a 
man of a very different temperament from that of his fellow " United-Maa ; " 
for, though equally steadfast in the revolutionary creed as his old comrade, 
and as zealous in propagating itg doctrines among the men of a .new gen* 
eration, he was never vindictive in language when alluding to his country's 
enemies. It was impossible for one of his genial disposition to harbor a 
vengeful thought against an individual opponent, With the experience of 
age he possessed the confiding frankness and modest diffidenee of an ingen= 
uous boy 5 and by those qualities he won the affection of these who esteemed 
him for his sei vices and devotion to his country's cause. Mr. Smith was a 
native of the county of Cavan, but had long been a resident of Dublin, 



THREE VETEUANS 0} ' NINETY EIGHT. 141 

"where he still, notwithstanding his great age, worked at his trade — that of 
a saddled. His children, a son and daughter, both grown to maturity, were, 
'in e~very respect, worthy of such a parent; and their pride in him as a 
pattfitft was as intense as was their love — as his children. Their home was 
a Cheerful ''and happy one, and was enlivened by many a pleasant passage- 
at^sr-ftis ^between the lively and heroic-souled " Sally Smith " and her father's 
grim old comrade — whose enthusiasm she would affect to dampen by hinting 
a <a*Wib't <6i Ihis iphysical fitness for undergoing the fatigues of campaigning 
at bte age. 

""Now, Mr. Gaynor," she would remark in a serio-comic tone, "what in 
the name of common sense, could two such old men as you and my father 
do -when it comes to dghting? The idea of men of your years, imagining 
they are capable of undergoing the hardships incident to a soldier's life, is 
birnply preposterous?'- 

Quick a? a shot would come the veteran's fiery reponse: — 

"Why! 'confound your impudence, you youug jade! couldn't vse do ' garri- 
son duty ? ' — There's a sockdoleger for you ! " 

And the general laugh which followed this unanswerable proposition 
served the double purpose of silencing the audacious interlocutor, and smooth- 
ing the irritated sensibilities of the triumphant old hero. 

Richard Smith was his venerable parent's constant attendant to, and 
from, the Club meetings and other political demonstrations. His conspicuous 
patriotism early attracted the marked attention of the government emissa- 
ries; and, and when their day of reckoning came, and those rascals' em- 
ployers could select their objects of vengeance from the long list of "sus- 
pects" — the Smith family found Dublin an unsafe place of residence, and 
so, their pleasant home in Jeivis street was abandoned, and, like thousands 
of their race, they sought a new home in the " Land of the Free." 

But they did not abandon the "old cause" when they looked their last 
on their beloved Inisfail. Both father and son were among the earliest en- 
rolled i members of the Fenian Brotherhood in New York, and the old man 
cherished a warm attachment for John O'Mahony, at whose head-quarters he 
was a frequent and most welcome visitor. Here the old United-Irisman met 
with a venerable compatriot in the person of Mr. Michael Birney, a Wexford 
man *who, thenceforth, in a measure, occupied his old comrade, Gayuor'§, 
place in his affections as a connecting link with the " brave days of old." 

How ; these two old heroes were esteemed by the associates in the Fe- 
nian Brotherhood, was shown at the great funeral procession that conveyed 
the remains of Terence Belle w McMauus .through .New York, on the 18£b 
Of October, 1S61. 



142 MEMOIES OF GEN. THOMAS FEANCIS MEAGHER. 

Towards the close of the immense demonstration an open barouche, in 
which were seated two white-haired old men, attracted the marked and 
respectful attention of the masses that lined the streets; for it was known 
through the press, that, in the funeral cortege were to appear two veterans 
who, sixty-three years before, had shouldered their pikes in the same im- 
mortal cause, which McManus, ?. half century later had so nobly upheld. 

The veterans were "John Smith of Cavan," and "Michael Birney of 
Wexford,'' them aged respectively, 89 and 81 years. 

Both those old patriots passed the age of 90 before they were laid to 
rest, by loving hands, in Calvery Cemetery — that great Necropolis of the 
exiled "Children of the Gael." 

INTERESTING PEESONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF 'NINETY- 
EIGHT. 

Thohas O'Flanagan, the third of those '98 veterans whose acquaintance 
I made in Dublin, was a man of much superior ability and general infor- 
mation to either of his venerable compatriots, and, in some respects, he 
was, perhaps, the most remarkable man of his time — notably in the fact 
that, for seventy -six consecutive years he worked unremittingly at his trade of 
printer, — earning his bread by his own manual labor from the 1st of May, 
1790, to the 23d of August, 1S66, — a record unparalelled in the history of 
printing. 

In Thomas O'Flanagan's obituary, written by Dr. R. R. Madden, author 
of the " Lives and Times of the United Irishmen," and who was one of the 
old patriot's most intimate friends for the last twenty years of his life, 
occurs the following tribute to his character : — 

"A man singularly deserving of respect and honor — of high intelligence, 
sterling worth, strict integrity and sound judgment — of self-reliant indepen- 
dent principles, yet of mild and gentle demeanor, naturally civilized, and 
disposed in all emergencies to think justly and to act rightly." 

Thomas O'Flanagan as a United-Irishman, enjoyed the high honor of 
being personally known to, and implicitely trusted by, Lord Edward Fitz- 
gerald, Arthur O'Connor, and other distinguished members of that patriotic 
society. Such confidence had they in his courage and devotion, that he was 
selected by them as one of Lord Edward's armed body-guards, while the 
noble Geraldine was secreted in the metropolis in the winter of '97 — '98. 

From the lengthy sketch of his career by Dr. Madden, supplemented by 
information derived from other authentic sources, I am enabled to supply 



PEBSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF '98. 143 

the following details of his history up to the time when I had the pleasure 
of making his personal acquaintance. 

He came of a brave old Celtic stock, being a scion of the sept of 
O'Flanagan of Moy-town, county Fermanagh. 

He was born in the vicinity of Enniskillen in the "year of the Declar- 
ation of American Independence," and, at the age of fourteen, he commenced 
his career as a printer by entering the office of the Freeman's Journal, 
Dublin, as an apprentice. Francis Higgens was then proprietor. 

After his apprenticeship had expired, Mr. O'Flanagan continued to work 
as a journeyman compositor on the Freeman until September, 1797, when 
the leaders of the United cause established a newspaper entitled the Press, to 
forward the movement for the liberation of Ireland. O'Flanagan worked as 
compositor on the new national organ from its first issue until its suppres- 
sion by military force on March 6th, 1798, when the sixty-eighth number 
was seized on the morning of its intended publication. 

He gives the following reminiscences of the brief and troubled career 
of the Press: 

" The first seventeen numbers of the paper were printed by Mr. Whit- 
worth, an Englishman, in Upper Exchange street, Dublin. The subsequently 
celebrated Peter Finnerty, who was to have been a compositor on it, was 
introduced to Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Arthur O'Connor, who found 
him to be a man of great talent, tact, and patriotism. They at once de- 
cided that he should be employed at the publishing office in Church Lane, 
College Green, where he had to conduct some very important correspondence 
for the United Irishmen. His name appeared at the bottom of the paper 
as the printer to the Press, and Lord Edward Fitzgerald on several occa- 
sions expressed his entire approval of Peter Finnerty's conduct. 

" The first editor was a Mr. Brennan, a very able writer, but a man of 
questionable integrity, as subsequent events proved. Brennan having been 
committed to jail for debt, he wrote to the proprietors to the effect that 
if they did not pay his debts immediately, he would place all the manu- 
scripts which he had in his possession in the hands of the Castle authori- 
ties.* Brennan's threat was treated with contempt, and Arthur O'Connor 
wrote to him in these words : — 

" ' If you wish to act a base, dishonorable part towards us and the 



*What a close parallel is exhibited between this wretchie conduct In the above 
instance, and that of " Pigott the suicide" in his attempt to bfcickmail the Irish nation- 
alists in more recent times?— [Ed. 



144 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

righteous cause you have engaged to sustain, we must regret it; we must 
likewise regret having been associated with a man capable of such basenc ss. 
Do your utmost. Posterity shall decide upon the rectitude of the cause you 
have expressed your intention of betraying.' 

"In a few days after, Brennan was liberated from prison by the gov- 
ernment, who, no doubt, perceived that he was worth purchasing ; but I am not 
aware of his having appeared before the public again in connection with 
politics. 

"The aspect of Irish affairs looking very perilous, and prosecution fol- 
lowing prosecution, Mr. "Whit worth declined printing the Press any longer. 
Mr. Stockdale, of Abbey street, brought out the eighteenth number, and 
continued to print it as long as it was permitted by the government. 

"W r hen Finnerty was found guilty of a libel another name was obliged 
to be entered at the stamp office. Arthur O'Connor's name was then attached 
to it. Although there were upwards of 3,000 copies struck off each publi- 
cation, (Monday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings,) the day that Arthur 
O'Connor's name was announced as printer, it got a rise of 1,500, and in- 
creased to 6,000. which was the utmost that could be printed in time by 
the presses in use at that period. The name of Arthur O'Connor was every- 
where received with enthusiasm by the people, particularly in the counties 
of Kildare and Meath. In truth, almost all Protestants who espoused the 
United cause, were generous, disinterested, noble-minded men, who truly 
loved fatherland. 

"What a contrast with the 'Soupers" of these days! 
"At the time Finnerty was sentenced to be pilloried at the front of 
Newgate, Lord Edward Fitzgerald and Arthur O'Connor went to Green 
street to encourage him while in the pillory. There were several thousand 
present, and the people seemed much excited. When they reached the guard 
of soldiers Lord Edward endeavored to pass one of them. The soldier raised 
his gun, and was about to strike him, when the high sheriff, (Mr. Pember- 
ton,) immediately advanced and ordered him not to act without orders. He 
then gave directions to the officer in command of the guard to allow Lord 
Edward Fitzgerald and Mr. O'Connor to pass. They both continued near 
Finnerty during the time he was suffering the penalty. The high sheriff 
seemed puzzled how to act; but owing to his mild and conciliatory conduct 
to the people, all passed off quietly. 

" Immediately after leaving Green street Lord Edward and O'Connor 
went to Stockdale's office. Having entered into conversation about what 
had taken place with the soldier, his lordship took two small pistols from 



PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF 'OS. 145 

his waistcoat pockets, and said that if the soldier had struck him he would 
have shot him dead. If that had taken place, I am con fide it the entire 
guard would have been disarmed in a few minutes, for the crowd was so 
close to them at that moment, that they would not be able to use their 
muskets. Lord Edward was the most determined man I ever saw. 

" So hostile were the low Orangemen to the Press newspaper that the 
messengers who carried the papers from the printer to the publishing office in 
Church Lane, were on several occasions, waylaid, in consequence of which 
the printers formed themselves into a guard to protect the newspapers the 
men were conveying. One night a printer named Hardy,* fa brave-hearted 
young man,) and myself went for that purpose. Hardy was armed with a 
large pistol, and I had a piece of metal from the printing office, about two 
feet long and an inch thick. We left the messengers safe in Church Lane, 
and subsequently went through College Green, Trinity street and St. An- 
drew street. As we passed into William street, Hardy, by the light of the 
old oil lamps, observed Major Sirr advancing at a distance, and immediately 
determined on shooting him as he came up, by discharging his pistol in the 
Major's face, as he was supposed to have worn armour about his body. 
Having an extreme objection to assassination I strongly urged my friend 
Hardy to abandon all idea of committing a crime so revolting to every 
Christian sentiment. He yielded to my entreaties; and in another moment 
Major Sirr passed us, little knowing what a narrow escape he had for his 
life. The Major surveyed us from head to foot, and my anxiety was intense, 
for I still feared some act of desperation on the part of my friend Hardy, 
on meeting a man so universally detested. 

"About this time, Mr. Astley, who kept the Amphitheatre in Peter 
street, (now Molyneaux Asylum,) made himself extremely obnoxious to the 
citizens of Dublin. He ordered his musicians to strike up " Croppies lie down" 
and other insulting airs, twice every night, for the amusement of the low 
Orangemen who frequented his house; but my friend Hardy, who was so 
anxious to dispatch the Major, repaired, with about thirty Liberty boys, to 
Astley's, and having taken their position near the musicians, all was quiet 
until the orchestra commenced playing " Croppies lie down," when Hardy 
started up and exclaimed : — 

' ; ' Come, boys, now is the time. Forward ! ' 

"In a few minutes all was confusion. The upper gallery men descended 



* Hardy was a Dublin man; he was about twenty five years of age. His father lived 
in Greek street. He was a United-Irishman. He became a sailor, and died on the coast 
of Aftica. 



146 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHEB. 

into the pit, broke into the orchestra, and smashed all the instruments. 
Astley's theatre never recovered the shock of this melee. The Kilkennv 
militia were on duty, but did not interfere; no doubt the Ballyragget boys 
felt no sympathy for the Orangemen. 

" Counsellor Sampson was the last conductor of the Press. The paper 
continued to be printed until the sixty-eighth number, when a guard of 
the Cavan militia, under the command cf a rampant Orangeman, Maxwell, 
came and seized the office, carried away all the newspapers that had been 
printed, and destroyed the type, presses, etc., in a wanton manner. 

"John Stockdale, the publisher of the Press, was, at that time, under- 
going a sentence of six months' imprisonment in Kilmainham jail for refus- 
ing to answer certain queries put to him by the House of Lords, in 1797. 

u In 1803, he was implicated in the insurrection of Eobert Emmet, and 
was again imprisoned on the charge of printing the proclamation of Emmet, 
and remained in confinement nearly two years. He came out of jail a ru- 
ined man ; he met with no assistance from those whose battles he had 
fought in his paper; neither from the '■''patriots" nor the "Catholics.' 1 '' He 
died in Abbey street, Dublin, the 11th of January, 1813." 

Peter Finnerty, editor and publisher of the Press, was liberated from 
prison in August, 1798, and soon afterwards went to London and became 
connected with the press there. It was through him that Mr. O'Flanagan 
was induced to leave Ireland and proceed to London, where remunerative 
employment had been secured for him on the Morning Chronicle. His wa- 
ges was soon largely increased on account of his excellent conduct and 
strict habits of temperance, from which he never departed in his life so far 
as to be prevented from attending to his business. He remained in London 
for several years, until his wife's illness, and her desire to return to Dublin 
induced him to give up his employment. His wife died in January, 1816, 
and he continued to work for several Dublin papers until 1824, when he 
set up in business as a general printer on his own account, and carried it 
on for the twelve succeeding years; during which time he printed editions 
of several important works, including Latin Philosophical and Theological 
class-books for Maynooth College. By judicious reading, and the study of 
works of a historical nature, he, at this time, laid in a large stock of 
general information, and added considerably to the limited education which 
he received in his youth. 

Mr. O'Flanagan was connected with the Nation newspaper from its first 
issue to the day of his death, and it was in the printing office of that 
paper that I first formed his acquaintance, in 1S48. 

Our interview was brought about by a singular circumstance. In my 



PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF '98. 147 

rambles through the city, I found, on a second-hand book-stall, a bound vol- 
ume of the Press. On my enquiring its price, the owner informed me it 
was " three pounds " — and added the (unnecessary) information, that it 
was " a very scarce book," at the same time courteously inviting me to 
look it over — though I did not want to purchase it. I thankfully availed 
myself of his kindness, and spent some time in reading the spirit-stirring 
contributions which bore the signatures of "Marcus," "Sarsfield," "Mon- 
tanus," etc., though not then knowing the rightful names of the parties 
represented by those noms de plume. 

On the following day I told one of my most esteemed Dublin friends, 
John Duffy, a printer employed on the Nation, of my curious discovery; 
and was both astonished and delighted, when he, in turn, informed me, 
that one of the printers of the Press, Mr. Thomas OTlanagan, was work- 
ing beside himself at the Nation office; that he was his most intimate friend, 
and a gentleman whom he knew I would like to become acquainted with; 
and proposed that I should be introduced to the veteran patriot next day, 
— to which I gladly assented. Mr. Duffy then proceeded to give me an out- 
line of his old friend's history — nearly as above narrated. He dwelt par- 
ticularly on the fact that Mr. OTlanagan had exclusive claim to the setting 
up of the "Poet's Corner" in the Nation, aud as a conseqence, that every 
line of Thomas Davis's poetic contributions to the paper had been printed 
by him. He dwelt feelingly on the old man's affectionate admiration for 
Davis, and told of the high esteem in which the veteran himself was held 
by Charles Gavan Duffy, and the rest of Davis's associates on the Nation. 

On my meeting the old gentleman next day, I was impressed with the 
resemblance which, (making allowance for difference in age,) his face bore 
to that of the portrait of Thomas Davis, both in the general outline of the 
features, and their thoughtful, kindly expression. Though then in his sev- 
enty-second year, Mr. OTlanagan looked hale and hearty as a well-preserved 
man of sixty. He was tall and strongly built, and must, when in his prime, 
have been possessed of great physical powers. His reception of me was 
most kindly; and after telling me that Mr. Duffy had informed him of my 
meeting the old volume of the Press and the impressions it made on me, 
he added "Yes! I worked on the Press during the term of its existence — 
fifty years ago." We did not talk much, then, of those stirring, by-gone 
times; but as he expressed a desire to see me as often as I could make it 
convenient to call at the office, I promised to avail myself of the invitation. 
At parting, he pressed my hand most warmly ; and at the moment, no boy 
in all Ireland felt prouder than I did — while clasping in mine, the hand 
that held that of "Lord Edward" in the United Irishmen's fraternal 



148 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

grasp: but then, or since, I could never find words to give expression to 
the memories of the past and hopes for the future, which, commingled, 
crowded on my thoughts as I felt the contact of that honored hand. 

We met several times after during the ensuing eventful weeks, and, hope- 
fully, discussed the exciting occurrences which seemed to lead, inevitably, to- 
wards the fulfilment of our anticipations — a life and death struggle for the 
possession of Dublin. But when the unexpected su-pension of the " Habeus 
Corpus Act," forced the' popular leaders, yet at liberty, to change their 
plans and abandon the capital for the country, in my sudden departure for 
the scene of operations in the south, I had no opportunity of taking a for- 
mal farewell of my venerable friend — as I would have done had time 
permitted. 

We met again, however, in the autum of 1849, when, after the failure 
of the revolutionary movement which gave its only visible sign at Cappo- 
quin, I found myself a u fugitive from justice," under the care of my old 
comrades in Dublin, and domiciled in the home of my noble-hearted friend, 
John Duffy. Mr. Duffy, on the suppression of the Nation at the close of 
July, 1848, had been compelled to leave Dublin; but when the "new Nation" 
was staited, he returned and went to work in his former position. On 
enquiring about our old friend, Mr. O'Flanagan, I was delighted to learn 
that he, also, was at his old quarters — in charge of the "Poet's Corner," 
and had been much concerned at the result of our efforts to uphold the 
good old cause. 

I determined to see him at once, while I yet had the opportunity, but, 
at Mr. Duffy's suggestion, I waited until he had prepared him for my com- 
ing. Our meeting was more affecting than I had anticipated; for, after his 
fL st warm greeting, and while still retaining my hand in his, he gazed, 
wistfully into my face, and the big tears rolled down his venerable cheeks. 
The thoughts that gave rise to this exhibition of emotion I could only 
imagine. I felt that I was identified in his memory with his own position 
in early manhood, when contemplating the disastrous failure of his glowing 
hopes, and that, in our short intercourse, I had won some share in his 
affection. When we parted then, I had but little hopes of our ever meeting 
again in life; for, under the circumstances in which I was placed, I could 
not well repeat my visit to the Nation office. However, that was not des- 
tined to be our last meeting. 

Nearly twelve years had elapsed when I, once more, set foot in Dublin. 
In the intervening time I had read an interesting notice of my . old friend, 
in the " Lives and Times of the United Irishmen," and learned therefrom 
that he was then (1857,) still living, and pursuing his usual avocation. But 



PEBSONAL BECOLLEGTIONS OF - 0S. 149 



when my dear comrade, Captain Frank Welpley, proposed that I should 
accompany him to the Nation office to see his fellow-townsmen the Messrs. 
Sullivan, I little expected to meet Mr. O'Flanagan there. Nevertheless, on 
my enquiring of Mr. Donall Sullivan if the old gentleman was still living? 
he replied, to my unspeakable delight, "Yes, the old hero is still with us 
— in charge of the 'Poet's Corner;' there he is over, poor man. But," he 
added feelingly, on seeing my eagerness to greet my old friend, "he will 
not recognize you; his memory is all but gone; he is as a little child, and 
has been so for some time past. He comes to work from habit, and we 
let him do as he likes in the office to which he is so much attached. We 
wanted him to rest for the remainder of his life, but he would not harbor 
the idea; 'rest would kill him,' and he 'would earn his own living inde- 
pendently to the end of his days.' " 

I found, on greeting my dear old friend, that Mr. Sullivan's surmise was 
correct; for, while courteously accepting my offered hand, he told me he 
" did not remember me," and a moment's reflection showed me that it was 
useless to attempt the revival of Nature's lost powers, so, after a faltering 
"good bye," and a last clasp of the brave old hand, I turned sadly away. 
Strange to say, Thomas O'Flanagan lived nearly five years after our 
last interview, and worked at his case in the Nation office up to the even- 
ing preceding his death. 

He died in his 90th year, oh the morning of the 24th of August, 1866, 
and on the 30th his remains were interred in Golden Bridge Cemetery. He 
was followed to the grave by the entire staff of the Nation, by a large 
contingent of the printing trade of Dublin, and, several other friends and 
admirers, and, in the words of his biographer, "They buried the old man 
of a brave spirit, with all the honor and respect that was due to a work- 
ing man of great worth and unblemished character." 

In estimating the various constituent elements which combined in pro- 
ducing the earnest enthusiasm, unselfishness and determined spirit, that char- 
acterized the Dublin Confederates of 1848, the sentiment created by the 
precepts and example of the surviving heroes of 179S, should not be over- 
looked, or under-estimated. How many of those noble souls contributed to 
the work, I have no means of ascertaining. I had but personal intercourse 
with the "three" whose memories I would fain associate in these psega 
with that of the young patriot, who, among all his compatriots in the Irish 
Capital, had no more enthusiastic and devoted admirers than they : — 
"The Brothers in Heart are United in Death!" 



150 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



THE TREASON - FELONY BILL. — SMITH O'BRIEN IN THE BRITISH 
BEAR-GARDEN. 

While the indicted " seditionary " leaders. O'Brien and Meagher, were 
aggravating their original offences by fraternizing with revolutionary French- 
men; and their associate in iniquity, Mitehel, was, by voice and pen. indoc- 
trinating his own countrymen with revolutionary ideas as radical as those 
held by the rough-and-ready citizens of the Fauburg St. Antoine; the Gov- 
ernment felt that their existing laws were utterly inadequate to stem the 
tide of disaffection that was surging and foaming around their constitutional 
ramparts, and threatening to overwhelm them, unless extraordinary measures 
were taken to check the destructive element. 

Acting on this conviction, "Her Gracious Majesty's" advisirs, under the 
plea that — "The Government in Ireland felt itself comparatively powerless, "' 
introduced a bill for the " security of the crown and government of the 
United Kingdom." It was known as the " Crime and Outrage (Ireland) 
Bill," and by its provisions, what were, hitherto, "seditious offences," (bail- 
able, and liable on conviction to a brief term of imprisonment,) were con- 
verted into "felonies" — " subjecting those who shall commit them to the penalty 
of transportation for the period of their natural lives." 

Under the provisions of this new " Treason-Felony-Act," nearly every 
speech delivered by Confederates, and every article published in the Nation 
and United Irishman, for the five preceding weeks, were liable to be prose- 
cuted. The bill w;is introduced, and passed the first reading, on the 7th of 
April. Three days after, its introducer, Sir George Grey, moved that it be 
read a second time. Then occurred a scene, such as had no parallel in the 
annals of the House of Commons. 

For, to the astonishment and mortification of those conspirators against 
a nation's liberty, there uprose in their midst the chief of the detested 
" rebels, " to crush whom the proposed bill was specially intended. 

Mr. "William Smith O'Brien rose to oppose the bill. His reception is 
thus described by the London correspondent of the Freeman : — 

"He was assailed with the most violent bursts of yelling, which lasted 



THE TBEASON- FELONY BILL. 151 

fully ten minutes, and throughout his really magnificent address the most 
daring attempts were made to hoot him down. 

"Indeed, to such an extent were the 'beastly bellowings' of the Com- 
mons House of Parliament carried — so violently did fully four hundred 
' popular representatives ' conduct themselves, that I was in momentary ex- 
pectation of fit.ding some of those 'fine old English' gentlemanly legislators 
exercising their physical prowess in an antagonistic encounter with the hon- 
orable member for Limerick. Pen cannot convey any adequate idea of the 
rank barbarism of this degrading exhibition. 

"The howling of hungry wolves in the Zoological Gardens faintly 
resembled the yells which were hounded against Mr. O'Brien." 

Your Parliament is to me most hateful, 

Discourteous brawlers — half-blackleg boors, 
Soul-selling schemers, to trust unfaithful, 

Adepts in falsehood and tricky lures. 

From the Iri.h of Ckaoibhin Aoibhinn. 

MR. O'BRIEN'S SPEECH. 
Deliverd in the House of Commons April 10th, 1848. 

"I do not rise, sir, for the purpose of entering at length into the de- 
tails of this bill. I care very little about those details. 

"I see in this measure a new attempt to meet the claims of Ireland 
by coercion rather than by conciliation; and it is in that view, rather than 
upon any technical form, that I oppose it. I can assure the House, in all 
solemnity, that I do believe this attempt which you are now making to 
coerce the people of Ireland will be utterly futile. The people will laugh 
at your attempts to indict a nation. (Cries of Oh! oh! and some cheers.) 
Be that as it may, I have a duty to perform, and from the performance 
of that duty I shall not shrink. (Hear, fceir, and Oh! oh!). 

"In the year 1843, before I joined the Repeal Association, I felt it 
my duty to make a last appeal in this House, asking from them what was 
then called "Justice to Ireland," — that is, a series of measures calculated 
to give satisfaction to the Irish people — consistent with the maintenance of 
the Union between the two countries. You refused that appeal — an appeal 
not only made by so humble an individual as myself, but by a very con- 
siderable portion of the nation of which I am one of the representatives. 

"You have now one other opportunity of meeting the demands of that 
nation by yielding to their claims for a separate legislature — for the prin- 



152 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

ciple of self-government, as under the ancient constitution of Ireland, by 
Queen, Lords and Commons. I am here to tt-11 you to-night that I sincerely 
believe, if you refuse those claims during the present year, you will have 
to encounter the chance of a republic in Ireland. (Tremendous cries of Oh! 
oh! and great sensation). 

Unlike all the other governments of Euiope, the liberal government of 
England, instead of attempting to pacify the country with which they are 
most closely connected by timely concessions, meet the demands of the 
people by prosecutions and by coercive laws, — (a few cries of Hear, hear, 
and No,) — and this at a moment when your foreign minister is giving his 
countenance to the efforts of every other people in Europe to redeem them- 
selves from servitude. I ask no better parallel for the condition of Ireland 
towards this country than that of Sicily in relation to Naples; and what is 
the noble lord doing with respect to the people of Sicily — the parallel 
state of Ireland — but saying the people are perfectly right in throwing off 
the Neapolitan dominion? 

"Sir, in my absence, charges have been brought against me. (Heai-, 
hear). If gentlemen have charges to make against me, I should like them 
to be made here to-night. (Hear, hear). Charges have been brought against 
me as an individual, and against the party with whom I act. (Oh, and 
ironical cheers). I am here to answer those charges, both for myself and 
for the party with which I act; and I will say this with regard to my 
companions in the noble struggle in which we are engaged — (loud laugh- 
ter) — that though I have had an opportunity of seeing the most distin- 
guished men of all parties in this House, I never met a number of men 
acting for a great political object who appeared to me, at least, to be ani- 
mated by such pure and disinterested motives — (loud laughter) — as those 
with whom it is my pride to act. 

"Now, sir, with regard to myself. I have been called a traitor. (A tre- 
mendous burst of cheers followed this sentence, twice renewed before silence 
was restored.) I do not profess disloyalty to the Queen of England. (Iron- 
ical applause.) But if it is treason to profess disloyalty to this House, and 
to the government of Ireland by the Parliament of Great Britain — if that 
be treason, I avow the treason. (Oh! and great excitement.) Nay, 1 more, 
I say it shall be the study of my life to overthrow the dominion of this 
Parliament over Ireland. (Hear, hear, and cries of Oh!). I undertake to 
say, and I challenge any man to rebut the statement, that there is no man 
in this House who stands higher in his public character than I do. (Burst, 
of laugter). I am certain that, both in this House, and in my country3 
there are men infinitely my superiors in talent; but, since I have had the 






MB. O'BBIEN'S S BEECH 153 

honor of a seat, as one of the members for the county of Limerick, I can 
safely say, that I have never given one vote in this House from any other 
consideration than a sincere and honest desire to promote the public wel- 
fare. (Hear, hear). I defy any man to say that the votes I have given 
have been prompted by any other consideration. (Hear, hear, hear). 1 tell 
the House more, now that I am to be an arraigned criminal, that I would 
gladly accept the most ignominious death that could be inflicted upon me — 
(ironical cheers) — rather than witness the sufferings and the indignities that 
I have seen inflicted by this legislature upon my countrymen during the 
last thirty years of my life. 

"It has been stated that I went to France for the purpose of enlisting 
French aid — (hear, hear,) — that is to say, aimed aid and succor for my 
countrymen in the struggle in which they are engaged. That is a misap- 
prehension. (Oh, oh, oh). If I had gone to France asking foi aid of an 
armed kind, believe me I should have come back accompanied by a toler- 
ably large legion of troops. (Some laughter, and Oh, oh). You may believe 
what I say. I only wish you had been in France. (A laugh.) The lan- 
guage I have held in Ireland and in France to my countrymen, has been 
this— that Irish freedom must be won by Irish courage and Irish firmness. 
I have no desire to impose upon my country one description of servitude 
in the place of another, — (hear, hear,) — for I believe that the liberty of 
Ireland, and its redemption from its present position, were they won by 
foreign bayonets, could only be retained in its possession by foreign bayo- 
nets; and, therefore, it is not my desire or my intention to place my country 
under foreign dominion. (Hear, hear). 

"What I did, however, I will boldly avow in this House. I went on 
behalf of a large portion of my countrymen, as one of a deputation to 
congratulate the French nation upon the overthrow of a dynasty which had 
forfeited all claim to continue in possession of the throne of France: upon 
having shown to the nations of the world — and their example has, to a 
certain extent, already had that effect — how other nations were to win 
their liberties, and to thank them for having given an impulse to the cause 
of freedom, and which, we hope, will re-act beneficially upon our own 
country; but I have no hesitation whatever in affirming — and with pleasure 
I avow — that I did find, on the part of the French people, a great amount 
of intense sympathy with Ireland. I may add, that I do not believe that 
that sympathy is confined to France alone, but that every nation in the 
world, every enlightened man, every statesman in the civilized globe, par- 
takes in it, and looks upon Ireland as you look upon Poland, and upon 



154 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

your connection with Ireland as entirely analogous to that of Russia with 
Poland. (Laughter) . 

"Sir, I will not reject the sympathy of other nations; but at the same time 
I am happy to think that there is among the middling and humbler classes of 
England a large amount of sympathy with Ireland — that there is amongst 
them an anxious desire that they should obtain that power of legislation which 
they wish; and it gives me great satisfaction to think that amongst the 
Chartists, from five millions of whom — (a laugh) — there has been a peti- 
tion presented this evening, there is scarce an individual who does not sym 
pathise with the cause of Ireland. (Hear, here, from Mr. Fergus O'Connor 
and derisive cheers from all parts of the House). 

" These men feel that they have been unjustly excluded from all share 
in political power; they are resolved that the working-classes shall assert 
their ri^ht to a share in the representation of this country, and they know 
they cannot do so at a better time than when you are embarrassed in 
your arrangements with Ireland. Therefore, whether it be offered from pol 
icy or sincere sympathy, I trust that the Eepealers of Ireland will accept 
that aid which the Chartists are universally prepared to give them. 

"Now, I avow the fact — I know not whether it be illegal or not — that 
I have been instrumental in asking my countrymen to arm. (Marks of sur- 
prise and sensation). I conceive that under the present circumstances of all 
nations, it is the duty of every man to obtain the possession, and learn the 
use of arms. There is not a nation I believe in Europe, which does not 
make it part of its duty to instiuct its citizers in the use of arms; and I 
conceive that it is the peculiar duty of the Irish people to obtain the pos- 
session of arms at a time when you tell them you are prepared to crush 
their expression of opinion, not by argument, but by brute force. (Loud 
cries of Oh, oh, and expressions of disapprobation). 

"Let me remind the gentlemen opposite of what took place in 1782. 
It was then no crime in my countrymen to enlist themselves in armed 
array for the defence of their country against foreign powers. By that 
armed array they obtained that independence which England solemnly re- 
corded on her statute book as the inalienable right of the Irish people — 
a compact which she has since basely and perfidiously violated. I ask them 
to arm now for the preservation of order, as well as for the purpose of 
acquiring their liberties; and as I think it right that there should be no- 
mistake as to the opinions, and sentiments, and intentions of the body with 
whom I act, I will read a resolution which was passed at the last meeting 
of the Irish Confederation. It was as follows: 

" ' Resolved, — That we hereby repudiate, as a gross calumny, the impu 



MR O'BRIEN'S SPEECH 155 

taion thrown out upon us by Lord John Russell, that the object of this 
Confederation i3 social disorder, and a violent separation from Great Britain ; 
and we hereby declare that our object is now, as it always was, the legis- 
lative independence, of Ireland, and thereby the attainment of social order; 
and we desire that such independence may be obtained, if possible, without 
civil war.' (A laugh). 

"We have also, acting on the suggestion of the late illustrous leader of 
the Irish people, recommended our countrymen to send to the metropolis of 
Ireland a National Council to be composed of three hundred individuals ; 
and I trust that before long that National Council will be establshed in 
Dublin. With all deference to the Irish members in this House, we do feel 
that there is at present no sufficient exponent of the opinions of the Irish 
nation. The Irish members represent not more than one in each hundred 
of the population of Ireland. (Hear). We are, therefore, prepared to calL 
upon the people of Ireland to send to Dublin such a board; and with that 
body I would recommend the noble lord to enter into early and earnest 
negotiations — (loud and derisive laughter,) — for the purpose of effecting an 
amicable settlement of the question now at issue between the two countries. 
(Renewed laughter). 

"I was quite prepared when I came here to experience the insulting 
sneers that I have met; yet, sir, for myself, I believe that we shall eventu- 
ally succeed in our efforts; and I can tell you that this is not a subject 
for sneering or levity. If we should unfortunately lend ourselves to the 
designs of the government, and be led into overt acts of violence, I believe 
that in such a case we shall have at least the emancipation of our country 
postponed. 

u The government are doing all in their power to stimulate the people 
to insurrection. What better evidence need be produced of such an intention 
than the recent employment of spies by officials of the Castle to encourage 
the manufacture of pikes? (Hear, hear). The noble lord is prepared to 
govern Ireland, not by satisfying the demands of the people, but by a sys- 
tem of detective pclice; by employing men who instigate others to crime 
for the purpose of betraying them? (Hear, hear). Is that to be the prin- 
ciple on which to govern Ireland? The noble lord relies upon packed juries. 
(A laugh). If he gets a fair jury I say it is impossible to obtain a ver- 
dict. Let me tell him that — if he fails, the prestige and influence of the 
government is overthrown by that defeat; and if there be found one honest 
and intelligent juror out of the twelve to try us, his objeot is defeated; 
but if he succeed, what does he obtain? He little knows the spirit that 
prevails in Ireland, if he does not know that for every man he prosecutes, 



15(5 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRAXCIS MEAGHER. 

he brings out fifty, one hundred, aye one thousand men, who consider that, 
so far from being disgraced by being convicted for serving their country, 
they would gladly suffer any consequences in such a cause. (A laugh). 

"The noble lord has boasted in this House of the signatures to the 
addresses of support which have been sent to Lord Clarendon. But wh-it is 
their number? I think some two hundred and thirty thousand, persons whose 
names, by-the-way, are not known — that is, one-thirtieth of the population have 
been induced, by the most active solicitation, to sign those addresses. Now, 
I warn the noble lord that he can place no reliance whatever on the influ- 
ence of the gentry of Ireland. The gentry throughout three-fourths of Ire- 
land are entirely powerless; and all they could do with the aid of British 
bayonets would be to save themselves. The time was when they had influ- 
ence, but it is not so now. 

"Let the noble lord ask his colleague, Lord Clanricarde, what number 
of followers he can muster in the county in which the De Burghs once led 
a formidable clan? Ask the Duke of Leinster, who would be the most 
powerful subject in Europe if acting with the people, how many would fol- 
low him in a struggle against the Irish nation? I believe he could not have 
a single partizan out of his own family. Ask Lord Ormonde, one of the 
most amiable men in Ireland, who is universally beloved even by those 
who differ from him in political opinion — ask how many men would fol- 
low his banner? Why, the noble lord must know, that, to look to the 
gentry of Ireland in the case of a struggle, is to place reliance on a mere 
fictitious hope. If this question should be settled by a recourse to the last 
extremity — which I, for one, most ardently and earnestly deprecate — the 
Irish gentry would be exceedingly glad to compound with any party which 
would allow them to remain in possession of their estates. (A laugh). 
Yon can place, therefore, no reliance on them. 

"Then, there is a body, I admit, of considerable intrinsic strength — 
the Orangemen of Ireland. (Cheeis). 

" But the Orangemen of Ireland are at this time exceedingly discon- 
tented with the government of this country. The bill of the right honorable 
gentleman, the Secretary for Ireland, is about to deprive them of that ten- 
ant right which they value as an inheritance; and do you suppose that they 
can have any affection for a government which is about to strip them of 
their means of subsistence? Amongst the Orangemen of the North there exists 
a great deal of the spirit of the United Irishmen, and it is singular that 
some of the Confederate party who entertain the most extreme opinions are 
•losely connected with the Orangemen of the north of Ireland. 

" I can truly say, that I most ardently desire that the Orangemen should 



MB O'BEIEN-S SPEECH 157 

arm. I am exceedingly anxious that every portion of the people of Ireland 
*hould acquire something like the power to vindicate their rights, and there- 
fore, when you talk of arming the Orangemen, you do that which rather 
gives us satisfaction than conveys any uneasiness. (A laugh). 

"The government relies next upon the police force. Now, that force 
is ten thousand strong, and is a remarbably fine body of men, but it is 
entirely national ; they are taken from the people, and though they are 
excellent preservers of order — and though I hope they will preserve order 

— I honor them for the attempt — yet if we were ever led to a great na- 
tional strife between nation and nation, the policemen would be too glad to 
obtain the certainty of the future honors and renown which would belong 
to them if they acted as the saviors of their country, not to take a part in 
then- country's cause. 

''The government next relies upon the army. 

"Now the army is a very insignificant fraction of the whole populatioc, 
and if, during the rebellion, one hundred and fifty thousand armed troops 
were required to retain possession of two or three counties in Ireland, un- 
der the circumstances, do you suppose, if it were to come to a struggle, 
which God forbid — (a laugh) — do you suppose that your thirty thousand 
men at present under arms in Ireland, would present any serious obstacle 
to the attainment of their wishes by the people of Ireland? Remember, too, 
that from the nature of the country — from its subdivision into small fields 

— cavalry could not act at all; and, if the public communications were ob- 
structed, artillery could not be worked without the greatest difficulty. Such 
would be your position in case you could place full reliance on the army: 
but, however painful to you may be the reflection, I believe that you can- 
not rely upon the army in Ireland. (Loud cries of Oh! oh!) I am per- 
suaded that if there were a struggle to-morrow, a large portion of the 
army in Ireland would refuse to act against the people. (Cries of Oh! and 
Order). 

" I do not know what is the meaning of liberty of speech, if one can- 
not speak freely upon these questions. The object of my argument has been 
this — for I treat with the most utter disdain the attempts of the govern- 
ment to put me down by prosecution — (great laughter) — the object of my 
argument has been to show that if ever, unhappily, those two great coun- 
tries should come into a collision, the result of the collision would be ex- 
tremely uncertain, and cannot, in any case, be otherwise than disastrous to 
you; and if you fail, it might not be uuadvisable to consider what would 
be the condition of England with an independent Eepublic on one side, and 
an independent Republic on the other. (Loud laughter). 



158 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

" But, if you succeed, you decimate the inhabitants, you destroy their 
industry, you paralyse their energy, and you are left with what you had 
before — a discontented population, useless to you, whilst you are despised 
by all good men. 

"I do, under these circumstances implore you, before it is too late, to 
consider the portentous warnings which have been presented by what has 
occurred in other countries. Before the knell of English power in Ireland 
is sounded, I beg of you to make friends of the Irish people, by conceding 
to them those national rights which they claim, and to which, by every 
right, human and divine, they are entitled. (A laugh). 

"Now, sir, I have used no reserve on the present occasion in the com- 
mencement of these observations, and I shall use none at their conclusion. 

"When the noble lord tells me I am a traitor to the crown, I repel 
the charge and retort it. (Roars of laughter). And I tell him that if, in 
the present condition of Europe, he attempts, as regards his own fellow- 
countrymen, to crush all the efforts on the part of the democracy to obtain 
those rights which the people of other countries have obtained; and if. as 
regards my country, he refuses our demand for self-govemnifnt — if he acts 
towards both kingdoms the part of Guizot and Metternich in their respective 
countries, then, I tell him, it is not I, but he and his colleagues, that are 
traitors to the country, the Queen, and the constitution/' (Slight applause, 
but almost universal groaning). 

[This exhibition of British aristocratic blackguardism, so characteristic of 
the cowardly bully, was, to some extent, stimulated by the triumph which, 
on that day, the " ruling classes " had achieved over their discontented 
4i lower orders" — the English Chartists. 

The latter body had, for some weeks previous, been engaged in prepar- 
ing a petition to parliament embodying their demands for reform. They 
announced that this document — with five million signatures attached — 
would be presented to parliament on the 10th of April, under charge of 
an escort of half a million able-bodied representatives of the English 
Democracy, who, converging by several designated routes, on Kensington 
Common, would there hold a meeting, and march thence in procession to 
the Houses of Parliament — on the opposite side of the Thames. 

The Government, fearful of a possible Revolution — and the consequent 
Back of London — on the 6th of April, issued a Proclamation prohibiting 
both the contemplated public meeting and the procession through London. 
On the following day, the Chartist National Convention issued a counter- 
proclamation, expressing their determination, as peaceably disposed men, to 



MB. O'BRIEN'S SBEECE. 159 

carry out their original programme at all hazards; whereupon the Govern- 
ment made preparations to meet the emergency, and enforce its supremacy. 

As a first precautionary measure, the Queen and royal family left Lon- 
don for the Isle of Wight. 

Next, under the dread of loss of their property by general plunder, 
over two hundred thousand " special constables " were enrolled from the 
shop-keepers and other non-working classes of London; the employes in all 
public offices were supplied with arms from the Tower; the regular police 
force were concentrated on the most suspicious points, while the regular 
military force — amounting to about ten thousand men — occupied the best 
strategic positions, and defended the government buildings, though not a 
soldier was visible on the streets. 

The meeting on Kensington Common was duly held, but the leaders 
were informed by the police authorities that, the procession would not be 
allowed to return over any of the bridges, and that il if any attempt were 
made to do so the parties making it must take the consequences." 

Thus trapped, through the incapacity or cowardice of their leaders, the 
Chartists were forced to forego their march to the Parliament House and 
disperse to their several homes, while the monster petition was conveyed 
piecemeal in cabs to the House of Commons, where it was presented by 
Fergus O'Connor, and ordered to lie on the table, from which it was sub- 
sequently removed by four messengers of the House — and so ended the great 
Chartist demonstration in London. 

No wonder the aristocrats felt jubilant, and disposed to exhibit their 
malignity towards the champion of human freedom — after their recovery 
from their recent fright; *and no wonder that the Irish Revolutionists hence- 
forth set little store by the promises of cooperation given them on behalf 
of their fellow-subjects across St. George's Channel. 

Verily, there was a tangible difference between the Democracy of Paris 
and London in those days. But — to quote an old Irish saying : — 

"Nat Slan a Comortast" 



160 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

AN IRISH WELCOME -HOME. — MEAGHER'S IMPRESSIONS OF 
FRANCE. 

Filled Is the wide hall 
With friends from wall to wall, 
Where their welcome shakes the banners like a storm. 

Davis, 

Smith O'Brien was amply compensated for the rudeness of England's 
parliamentary boors, by the enthusiastic reception accorded himself and his 
fellow-members of the deputation to France by their own warm-hearted 
countrymen and countywomen, at the close of that eventful week, in the 
Irish capital. 

The committee of the trades and citizens of Dublin had determined to 
give their deputies a suitable " Welcome -Home," and, in order that the 
ladies should have an opportunity of participating therein, it was arranged 
that a soiree be given in honor of the returned national representative?. 

The entertainment was given on Saturday evening, April 15th, in the 
Music Hall, and the scene presented on that joyous occasion was one of the 
grandest and most exhilirating I ever witnessed inside four walls. 

The building was filled to its utmost seating capacity, the boxes and 
galleries being mostly occupied by ladies. Flags were suspended at various 
parts of the walls — from the boxes, and on the stage. Rows of small tea- 
tables were placed in the body of the hall, and before the entertainment 
commenced every seat was occupied. A most conspicuous figure on the stage 
was that of an Irisher Harper attired in the ancient Irish national costume, 
seated in the vicinity of the chair — his harp between his knees. A fine 
temperance band was also present, and during the evening delighted the 
audience by their exquisite rendering of appropriate selections from the 
national melodies. 

The demonstration was one in which both sections of the Repealers cor- 
dially united. Four of the leading members of the Repeal Association Com- 
mittee were present on the stage in the uniform of the "82 Club, one of 
them, Andrew R. Stritch, barrister, was called to the chair, and — in his 
official capacity — proposed the toasts of the evening. 



AN IBISH WEL COME- HOME. 1 G 1 

The first toast : — " The Queen of Ireland ! " was received respectfully, 
but no orator was called upon to respond, neither did any volunteer, for 
obvious reasons. 

The next toast was — "The People! — By whose permission kings and 
governments, as kings and governments exist, and for whom alone they 
should rule." 

Mr. S. E. Frazer (member of the Repeal Association Committee,) res- 
ponded in a spirited speech, in which the "one drop of blood" theory was 
emphatically repudiated. He said he "came there that night as a citizen of 
Dublin to tender his sympathy and support to William Smith O'Brien — be- 
cause heretofore he differed somewhat in opinion with that gentleman, but 
all that was now at an end. If they were to be deprived of the last remnant 
of their liberty, it should be blotted out in their blood. 

•'The Legislative Independence of Ireland, and the Memory of 
the Volunteers ! " was given, and duly honored, after which came the 
toast of the evening — 

"Ireland's Uncompromising Patriot — Willi am Smith O'Brien!" 

In the cheers that greeted that toast, welcome, admiration, and prideful 
affection for the people's champion were commingled with scorn, hatred, and 
defiance for his enemies. Like fife-notes in the clangor of battle, the shrill 
voices of the women pierced through * the tumult — as the fair enthusiasts, 
alternately pale, or flushed with intense passionate excitement, stood wildly 
waving handkerchiefs, or clapping hands — while the pendant banners actually 
shook as if in animated response to the storm cf human passion vibrating 
around them. 

That was a scene to excite the senses, and leave an indelible impression 
on the heart and memory. 

A lull in the storm that woke the echoes alike in animated breasts and- 
manimate walls, — and a tinkle is heard which is instantly followed by a 
dpep stillness, and a turning of all heads in the direction of the stage. 
The harper had just touched his strings by way of prelude, and suddenlv 
there burst upon the entranced audience the spirit-stirring notes of "Brian 
Borifs March!" 

When the applause which greeted the minstrel's performance of this glo- 
rious martial air had subsided, Mr. P. O'Donohue stepped forward, and ad- 
dressing Mr. William Smith O'Brien, read an address from the Trades and 
Citizens' Committee to that gentleman and the other deputies to France. 
The address, which contained a warm welcome to the deputies, was then 
presented to Mr. O'Brien. 



162 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



FLAG PRESENTATIONS. 

Mr. P. J. Barry then came forward, and, after reading an address to 
Mr. O'Brien expressive of the determination of the fifteen thousand men who 
lately met at the North Wall, to s.ustain that gentleman in his labors f < r 
Ireland, presented him with a small banner of green satin, beautifully em- 
broidered, and richly fringed with gold lace. It bore the inscription : — 

"William Smith O'Brien, M. P., 
Ireland's Truest Patriot." 

Mr. O'Brien received the banner amid renewed cheeing. 

Mr. S. R. Frazer (member of the Repeal Association Committee,) then 
Came forward bearing an old banner of green silk, richly ornamented, and 
bearing the Volunteers's arms and motto on its centre. It was one of the 
Original flags of the 3rd Regiment of Irish Volunteers. Handing the time- 
honored relic to Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Frazer said: 

"Sir, I have been requested to present you this flag." 

Mr. O'Brien received the flag amid enthusiastic cheers, and, holding it in 
his hand, proceeded to address the assembly in a lengthy and soul-stirring 
■peech, which he commenced by saying that often as it had been his lot 
to address meetings of his countrymen with sentiments of pride and satis- 
faction, he could truly say, that, upon no former occasion had he met a» 
assemblage of Irishmen with so much exultation as he then felt. Continu 
ing, he said: — 

"In that beautiful emblem you have presented me I am flattered by 
the appellation of being 'Ireland's truest patriot.' Now I take the liberty 
to reject that compliment. I tell you there are thousands of men as true 
In their patriotism as I am, — and I tell you more, I would despair for this 
country if I did not feel assured that such was the case." 

At the conclusion of Mr. O'Brien's speech, the chairman announced the 
next toast on the list : — 

"Messrs. Meagher, O'Gorman and Hollywood, and the remainder of 
the deputation to France ! " 

Mr. Meagher rose to return thanks on behalf of the deputation — amid 
great cheers. 

MR. MEAGHER'S SPEECH. 

Though I have seen no full report of the speech delivered by Mr. 
Meagher on this occasion, yet the synopsis given below will afford a fan- 
Idea of its substance. After referring to Lamartine's reply to the deputa- 



MB. MEAGHEB'S SPEECH. 163 

rion — in which he observed that "the nationality of Ireland was as dis- 
tinctively recognized as that of Italy and Poland by the Provisional Gov- 
ernment of France," Mr. Meagher continued. 

"I went to France animated with a love of freedom, and glorying in 
itn service. I have returned from France with this love deepened in my soul 

— worshipping no other object on this earth save the one radient and stately 
image, to which, in Paris, in Vienna, in Palermo, the breath of the people 
has given life, vigor, and immortality. For any fate to which this love and 
worship may impel me I am not only willing but ambitious. 

"Mingling in the crowds that gathered round the trees of liberty, which 
the brave hands that built the barricades have planted, to commemorate the 
virtue, the invincibility of the sovereign people — contemplating those sim- 
ple ceremonies, in which the enthusiasm of the most gifted and gallant na- 
tion in the world displays itself so gently and so grandly — turning from 
these scenes, and looking upon the wounded of the 24th of February — suf- 
ferera over whose features the consciousness of having played a glorious 
part had diffused a glow of health and rapture, and from whose lips there 
escaped no selfish penitence for the blood which their hearts had offered up 

— finding those sick beds resorted to by the fairest and the highest in the 
laud, and the sufferers honored more loyally than ever kings were honored 

— following, then, the coffin of some poor fellow who had died of his sa- 
cred wounds, and round whose fall the golden cross, the bayonet, and the 
palm-leaf glittered — beholding there, the holy homage which a free state is 
sure to render those whose blood has made her free — a witness of these 
scenes, I have become reckless of that life, which cautious, legal men, grand 
jurors of the city, special jurors of the city, attorney-generals of the Eng- 
lish crown, solemn judges "in red cloth and whalebone" — men of withered 
hearts and cunning brain — would exhort you to preserve, for the sake of 
peace and place — the gold dust of the crown, and all the other perquisites 
of respectable and enlightened slavery. 

'•I have nothing more to say. I present you with this flag." 

(Mr. Meagher here presented to the chairman a splendid flag surmount' 
ed by the Irish pike. The material was of the richest French silk, which 
was most gorgeously trimmed and embroidered; the colors were orange, 
white, and green). 

As the chairman took the flag the whole company stood up and cheered 
most enthusiastically. 

Mr. Meagher resumed — " From Paris, the gay and gallant city of the 
tri-color and the barricade, this flag has been proudly borne. I present it 
to my native land, and I trust that the old country will not refuse this 



164 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

symbol of a new life from one of her youngest children. I need not ex- 
plain its meaning. The quick and passionate intellect of the generation now 
springing into arm* will catch it at a glance. The white in the centre sig- 
nifies a lasting truce between the 'Orange' and the 'Green,' and I trust 
that beneath its folds the hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catho- 
lic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood. If this flag be 
destined to fan the flame of war, let England behold once more, upon that 
white centre, the Red Hand that struck her down from the hills of Ul- 
ster, and I pray that Heaven may bless the vengeance it is sure to kindle." 

JOHtf MITCHEL'S SPEECH. 

Mr. John Mitchel responded to the toast of the " Persecuted Patri- 
ots," in a characteristic speech — "plain as a pike-staff." He concluded as 
follows : — 

"To demand the independence which secures bread to the Irish people 
is what the British law is about to christen 'felony.' It was a misdemeanor 
last week — it will be felony next week; it was sedition — it is now to be 
treason. But whatever nickname they may give it in London, the nature of 
the case will not be altered, nor our plain duty either. 

"I have before stated in this hall my views of the policy which we 
ought to pursue; and I will continue to preach those doctrii.es, felony or 
no felony. So long as I am at large, and have the use of my tongue or 
pen, I will siruply go on to preach to my countrymen that the euem}- we 
have to deal with can understand no arguments from you but the points of 
pikes. I will continue to tell you that franchises are useless for our pur- 
pose, but that fire-arms are indispensable — that you may safely neglect the 
registries, but must in no wise neglect the rifles — that you must love and 
cherish your arms, and prepare to use them, and rely upon them alone for 
the righting of all your wrongs. 

"Yes, in proportion as you have procured arms and mastered their use, 
just so far have you aavanced on the road to liberty — and not one inch 
farther. I thank God that I have seen the day when this truth is ackowl- 
edged, and when Old and Young Ireland together are preparing to act 
upon it with zeal. Brighter days are coming to us : this noble weapon 
glittering above us, this majestic banner, are of good omen to us. 

"Ah! the gleaming pike-head rises through our darkness like a rnornin°: 
star. This magnificent Irish tri-color, with its Orange, White, and Green, 
dawns upon us more gloriously than ever Sunburst flashed over the field of 
Benburb, or blazed through the battle-haze of Clontarf. My friends, I hope 



PREPARATION. 1G5 



to see that flag one day waving, as our national banner, over a forest of 
Irish pikes; and I conclude in the words of one of our dead patriots, which 
holds a noble moral : — 

"A Nation's Flag! a Nation's Flag 

If wickedly unrolled, 
May foes In adverse battle drag 

Its every fold from fold; 
But, in the cause of Liberty, 

Guard it 'gainst Earth and Hel — 
Guard it till Death or Victory — 

Look you you guard it well 
No Saint or King has tomb so proud 
As he whose Flag becomes his shroud." 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

PEEPAEATION. — DISAFFECTED SOLDIERS — A CASTLE-PLOT 
FOILED. 

The line brown and sabre bright, 

Can freely speak and nobly write. — Davis. 

Immediately after his return from Paris, Meagher set himself assidu- 
ously to the congenial task of perfecting the arming and equipping of his 
comrades of the Grattan Club. He was president of this organization, which 
was principally composed of educated, well-to-do young men, who could 
afford to arm themselves with the most effective weapons attainable. Accord- 
ingly, while their less prosperous associates were fain to rely on an eight- 
foot pike to work out their country's salvation, they resolved that when the 
day for action came, they would be found on an equality with their enemies, 
and every man be armed with a serviceable rifle and its accompanying 
equipments. 

To such members of the club as could not afford the cost of this out- 
fit, Meagher supplied the requisite articles out of his private resources. 
I learned this fact from Thomas Devin Eeilly, under the following circum- 
stances. 

Mr. Eeilly, haviug learned that my two comrades, Bob. Ward and Dan, 



166 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMA S FBA NCIS ME A GHEE. 

boxes, from patterns of the regulation kind which he supplied. The articles, as 
they were finished, were stored at Reilly's residence, "Mosipher Lodge," near 
Eathmines, until called for by those for whose use they were ultimately 
intended. It was on the occasion of one of my visits to his home that, in 
the course of conversation, he informed me of Meagher's generous patriot- 
ism in thus coming to the assistance of the brave fellows whom he felt 
confident of soon leading to battle for Irish freedom. The act was wise as 
well as generous, and though Mr. Reilly's revelation of the secret enhanced 
my admiration for his friend, I was prepared for any act of self-sacrifice 
by the latter; for Meagher was not one to set bounds to his patriotism, 
or to economize his property in a cause to which he had devoted his 
life. 

DISAFFECTED IRISH SOLDIERS. 

But, while Mitchel's matter-of-fact arguments in favor of a revival of 
the Irish hardware manufacture, had set scores of anvils ringing in the 
dingy Janes of Dublin; while Duffy and O'Brien were preparing the public 
mind for the organization of an "Irish National Guard;" while Reilly and 
Meagher were quietly and efficiently equipping their patriotic battalions at 
home, and O'Gorman and his asssociate deputies studying French exercises 
in Paris; while the "Students" were founding an Ecole Pohjtechnique, and 
crowding the shooting-galleries nightly for practical experiments in the sci- 
ence of gunnery, and while, here and there, in lofts and cellars, some am- 
bitious club-men risked transportation to learn the rudiments of military 
instruction under the tutelage of a discharged soldier, or deserter; not one 
of them all thought of turning to practical purposes the spirit of disaffection 
which notoriously permeated the hearts of their countrymen in the English 
army, and which was almost daily manifested in the garrison of Dublin — 
as well as in those of the provincial towns, from Cork to Belfast, — in 
ways that could not be misunderstood. 

It was a most unaccountable oversight on the part of men bent on 
"Revolution," to neglect such an opportunity of strengthening the national 
forces, and demoralizing those of the enemy. 

From circumstances which came to my own knowledge at the time, I 
am of the opinion that, had a well-arranged plan of organization been put 
in operation in the spring of 1848, among the Irish soldiers then in Dublin, 
at least one-third of the garrison, (or five thousand men,) could be secured 
for the cause of Fatherland and Liberty. This was the estimate of some of 
the soldiers themselves, based on their knowledge of the number of Irish- 



DISAFFECTED IEISH SOLDIERS. 167 

m ii in every separate regiment in the city, and of the general feeling 
prevalent among them. 

Thus in the Royal Barracks were the 75th and the 85th Regiments of 
Infantry; numerically these were the strongest in Dublin — the former mus- 
tering seven hundred and fiftv and the latter six hundred and fifty men. 
In the 75th were three hundred and fifty Irishmen, and in the 85th three 
hundred. Of these more than five hundred were calculated on to take sides 
with the people in the event of an insurrection commencing in the natianal 
tapital. 

Again, in the Pigeon-House Fort were a little over two hundred men, 
of whom but about fifty were Irishmen. In pointing out the strength of 
the place, — (situated at the extremity of a long causeway running into the 
harbor,) — one of the garrison showed that, " while five thousand assailants 
from without could not take it — if unprovided with heavy artillery, — a com- 
parative few from within, could spike the guns, and throw open the gate 
to a well-conducted night attack.*' It was thoughtful, calculating soldiers 
like this class that were to be dreaded by the government, for they were 
likely to prove far more dangerous than their excitable, unreflective coun- 
trymen — who gave vent to their patriotic feelings in " cheers for Repeal," 
or in bloody encounters in street or tavern, with their red-coated Saxon 
antagonists. 

Of course, no organization for revolutionary purposes could be attempted 
in the army — unless it was strictly secret in its nature. But, in those days, 
Irish leaders — moderates and extremists alike — as if by common understand- 
ing (or universal infatuation,) seemed to entertain repugnance to having 
recourse to any organization of a secret tendency. Hence it followed as a 
natural consequence, that the meetings of the Confederate clubs, and even 
those of the Council of the Confederation, were left unguarded against the 
treachery of government spies — who regularly reported their proceedings to 
the Castle. 

It might be thought, that, — when the leaders were pointing out tbe 
glorious achievements of the revolutionists in the continental cities, — as ex- 
amples to be emulated by their compatriots in Dublin — they might ha.e 
reflected on the well-known fact, that in every instance, the success of the 
continental Revolutionists was due — not to the unpremeditated uprising of 
an exasperated populace, but to the men who, for years, were preparing in 
secret for such a contingency, and were ready to avail themselves of it 
promptly when it at last arrived. 

Any student of French history, from the Revolution of 1830 to that of 



16* MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FEANCIS MEAGHER. 

1S4S, could see that, duriug those eighteen years, the secret revolutionary 
societies of Paris were incessantly engaged in plo:ting how to undo the 
blunder that made Louis Philippe king — and so cheated the nation out of 
the liberty bought by the blood of her best and bravest. They made many 
futile attempts — but their day of triumph came. 

A CASTLE PLOT FOILED. 

But, though the Confederate leaders — by preaching and practice — repu- 
diated secret methods of attaining 'their ends, their antagonists were not so 
scrupulous. With them— "the end justified the means." On that principle 
the agents of British rule in Ireland had acted from Strongbow to Clar- 
endon. The latter had good cause for alarm, in the rapidity with which 
the citizens of Dublin, —in the absence of any prohibitory law, — were arm- 
ing; and, although the bill then before parliament, would, in a few days, 
give them the requisite power to deal with the subject "legally and consti- 
tutionally," he resolved to anticipate its passage, — and the possible action of 
the Revolutionists, — by a stroke of policy that, if successfully accomplished, 
would give him a place in history beside Cromwell. 

His plan contemplated a sudden and simultaneous raid on the homes of 
every known club-man in Dublin, and the seizure of all arms found therein. 

It was a bold conception to emanate from the brain of a statesman 
whose genius was heretofore supposed to be mainly devoted to the cultiva- 
tion of " prize cabbages and other green crops." Had the attempt been 
made to put it in execution according to the original programme, it might 
have been partially successful — after some isolated attempts at resistance ; 
or, on the other hand, it might have precipitated a general uprising in the 
capital. 

The following history of this plot, and the causes which led to its 
failure in embryo, is now, for the first time made public. 

James Murphy, a native of Tallow, county of Waterford, was one of the 
Dublin garrison, who, in 1S4S, was more loyal to his country than to his 
Queen. I first met him while walking with my comrade Dan. Magrath, one 
evening by Beggar's Bush Barracks. On our exchanging a passing saluta- 
tion, the similarity of our accent to his own, led the soldier to remark — 

"Boys, ye must be from near the same part of Munster as myself — I 
was born in Tallow — (" Cush na-Bricjde 1 ") 

We told him our birth-place was within seven miles of his — namely, 
Cappoquin. It did not take long till we found our political sentiments were 
as much alike as our "brogue," and thenceforward we met often — at our 



A CASTLE PLOT FOILED. 



lodgings, or in the Phoenix Park (near which Murphy's regiment was sta- 
tioned—in the Royal Barracks). 

From him we learned much interesting information concerning the state 
of the political feeling among the Irish soldiers in Dublin; who, in the 
absence of any help at organization from without, had been at work quietly 
among themselves — making calculations of their reliable forces in view of 
certain hoped-for eventualities. 

In the early part of May Murphy came one afternoon to our lodgings 
with the information, which he had just received, through his sergeant, that 
a general search for arms was to be made throughout Dublin, on a night 
close at hand, but not yet named. A detail of soldiers had been ordered 
from every regiment in Dublin, whose duty would be to take positions at 
designated street-crossings, and prevent all ingress or egress, to or from the 
blockaded quarter — while the police were to search the suspected houses 
and capture all arms found therein. He addel that himself was to be one 
of those detailed from the Royal Barracks, and that— if it was decided to 
make a fight on the occasion — the guns commanding the barrack-gate would 
be "spiked" before they left the yard. 

He brought me the information that I might convey it to the proper 
quarter, and such measures be taken as would be deemed advisable under 
the circumstances. 

After arranging to meet my informant on the next evening in the Park, 
I hastened to the Nation office to communicate the news to Mr. Duffy, in 
the first place. Not finding him in, I went to the office of the United 
Irishman to see either Mr. Mitchel or Mr. Reilly; but both had left for the 
former's home in Rathmines, a short time previously. Thither I followed, 
and found them at dinner. Mr. Reilly came out, and on my giving him the 
information he beckoned to Mitchel, to whom I repeated the story, and 
asked — "what was to be done?" 

After pondering over it for a few minutes, he advised that the clu 1 s 
should be informed of the contemplated raid without delay, with the advice 
from him to take such steps as they liked best in the matter, — either to 
place their arms in security, or use them on the raiders. He expressed the 
opinion that, when the projectors of the plot found, through their spies, 
that the clubs were apprized of it — they would abandon it altogether, ra- 
ther than risk a failure — or fight. 

The result showed the correctness of Mr. Mitchel's surmise; for when 
I communicated the information — with his instructions — to the committee of 
Hie Swift Club, (omitting, of course, the source from which I derived the 
news,) and it was announced to the assembled members, a party whom I 



*vu MEMOIBS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHEB. 

did not know, doubtingly, asked — who told me? I replied that "he had 
all that was necessary he should know on the subject; that I believed my 
informant, and that it was for the club to act as they thought fit in the 
matter." 

I believe my interlocutor was a Castle spy, who, unconsciously, served 
the cause he was hired to betray, by conveying" the discovery of the plot 
to its concoctors. At all events, there was no raid; and most of the arms 
were concealed for a time. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

BY THE SHANNON AND THE SUIR. 

In tempting wealth and trying woe, 

In struggling with a mob's dictation; 
In bearing back a fereign foe, 

In training up a troubled nation: 
SH 11 hold to Truth, abound in Love, 

Refusing every base compliance — 
Your Praise within, your Prize above, 

And live and die in Self-Reliance.— Dxvia. 

In all probability Clarendon's idea of a midnight raid on the Dublin 
Confederates was stimulated by a disgraceful occurrence which transpired in 
the city of Limerick towards the close of April. 

On the 29th of that month, a soiree in honor of the "Prosecuted Pa- 
triots" was given by the Limerick Sarsfield Club. O'Brien, Mitchel and 
Meagher — the guests of the occasion — attended. During the progress of 
the festivities, a mob, said to be composed of "Old Irelauders." collected 
outside the building, and broke the windows with stones. O'Brien, who 
went to the door to remonstrate with the assailants, was struck in the face 
by one of the missiles before he was recognized by the misguided dupes 
of whatever sneaking rascal incited them to their murderous mission. When 
they saw who the victim was, they were loud and vehement in their pro- 
testations of sorrow, declaring that they meditated no injury to him. They 
selected an escort of twenty to accompany him to his house — whither he 
retired from the soiree 



BY THE SHANNON AND THE SUIR. 171 

Who the inciter of this outrage was, was never positively known to the 
public — the party most strongly suspected having vehemently denied any 
connection with it, in a letter written immediately after the occurrence. 

When the news of O'Brien's reception among his constituents reached 
London, the press was jubilant over the event, and declared that England's 
opportunity had arrived. From this, most probably, it was, that tha Satrap 
of Dublin Castle took his cue. But he lacked the resolution to play the 
part of the midnight burglar — that of the jury-packer being more congenial 
to his taste — as being safer. 

In the meantime O'Brien was waited upon by the citizens of Limerick 
of all parties, who expressed their sympathy and respect, and when leaving 
the city on his return to Dublin, he was followed by the cheers and bles- 
Bings of the populace. During the ensuing fortnight addresses from all parts 
of Ireland kept pouring in upon him, and- served to compensate him for the 
malevolence of his English revilers. 

The visit to Limerick was intended to be the first of a series which 
O'Brien and Meagher contemplated making through the cities and towns of 
the South, for the better oganization of the national forces therein. Their 
programme was subsequently modified, so that, while Mr. O'Brien remained 
in Dublin, pending his trial for sedition, Charles Gavan Duffy accompanied 
Meagher on his tour of inspection to his native "Valley of the Suir." The 
citizens of Waterford had arranged to give an entertainment in honor of the 
41 Prosecuted Patriots" on the evening of Sunday, May 7th, and, at an early 
hour of the morning of that day, every vehicle attainable in the city was 
in requisition to convey the enthusiastic nationalists up to Carrick — where 
they expected to meet the patriot leaders, and escort them thence to Water- 
ford. Messrs. Meagher and Duffy arrived in Carrick about 11 A. M., and pro- 
ceeded to Mass, after which they went to the hotel, where an address was 
presented to them by the Rev. Patrick Byrne, C. C* 



♦For many years past, Vicar-General and Parish Priest of Llsmore. 

Father Byrne was then one of the most popular young priests in Ire- 
land. A fortnight before this meeting in Carrick, he addressed the follow- 
ing spirited letter to the editor of the Dublin Evening Fust : 

" Carrick-on-Suir, April 21st, 1848. 
" Sir, — Allow me, through your journal — which so richly deserves the 
gratitude of the 'paternal government' — to say, in reply to Lord John 
Russell's menace of opposition till death to the Repeal of the Legislative 



1 72 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS ME A GHER. 

From the windows of the hotel both gentlemen addressed an immense 
concourse of people, whom the news of their coming had attracted from 
both sides of the Suir — from the slopes of Sliabh-na-Mon on the Tipperary 
side — and the valleys of the Commerahs on that of Waterford. From end 
to end of the Island, no better fighting material could be found than was 
in Carrick on that day; and amongst them all, townsmen, or peasants, 
Meagher had no more resolute or devoted adherents than his recent elec- 
tioneering opponents — the indomitable "Carrick Boatmen." 

The route from Carrick to Waterford was over the bridge to Carriek- 
Beg, and thence by the Waterford side of the Suir, through Portlaw. It 
was a continuous triumphal march — every mile of which swelled the cheer- 
ing escort. At Portlaw the enthusiasm was indescribable; there the demon- 
stration of the country-people attained its greatest strength, the place being 
about equi-distant from Carrick and Waterford. 

Half way between Portlaw and the city, the procession was met by the 
congregated trades of Waterford with their bands and banners, and for the 



Union, that, whether he will or not, we must and shall have an indepen- 
dent legislature. And I beg leave, through you, to give him the reason; a 
convincing one you will admit. 

"The priests of Ireland are determined to stand by and with the people, 
come what may ; and should the insane Whig policy drive them to the 
adoption of those means which the Milanese so successfully tried, like their 
sainted and glorious Archbishop, the Irish priest shall be found amid the 
fight, invoking heaven's blessing upon it. May God avert such a crisis! 
But should it come, may the wrongs of seven centuries nerve the arm of 
every Irishman. 'Tis better to have the truth plainly told to the English 
Government, that they may be wise in time, and grant that which alone 
can satisfy the Irish nation, and continue her one of the brightest gems in 
Victoria's crown. 

" Allow me, also, through you, to inform the Premier that on yesterday 
was held a meeting of the priests of the dioceses (Waterford and Lismore,) 
presided over by our revered bishop. An address, praying her Majesty to 
grant the Repeal, was unanimously adopted. In the excellent speech of his 
lordship, we were exhorted to go with the people in everything their good 
would demand, without a violation of the precepts of our holy religion — 
a counsel we'll cheerfully follow. 

" I have the honor to remain, your obedient servant, 

"P. Byrne, R. C. C." 



BY THE SHANNON AND THE SUIR. 173 

remaining four miles, the road was covered by a dense moving mass — con- 
stituting a veritable " Monster Meeting," the like of which had not assem- 
bled in Waterford since that of June, 1843. 

The united procession entered the city by the old Cork mail-coach road, 
down the Yellow Road, Summer-Hill, Bridge street, and along the Quay. 
On passing that part of the Quay opposite which Her Majesty's ship-of-war 
"•Dragon" was moored, Meagher caused the procession to halt, and said 
that he " would select that place whence to remind his hearers that their 
country was not in their own hands — that it was held by force," and he 
concluded by calling for "Three cheers for the Green above the Red" — to 
send it home to the government, as he knew they would hear of it. 

The soirte, which was given in the Town Hall, that evening, was 
attended by over five hundred of the most distinguished (and now united) 
Repealers of the city, including several Catholic clergymen from the city 
and the adjoining parishes. Of these latter gentlemen, the one who spoke 
most enthusiastically of all the orators of the evening, was Mr. Costello's 
seconder at the Waterford election, and Meagher's most aggressive opponent 
— on that occasion. His adhesion to the extreme national party in this crisis 
of his country's destiny, testified to the sincerity of his convictions, and 
afforded one of the most remarkable instances of the great changes which 
current events were producing in the minds of even the most prejudiced 
men of his class. 

Mr. Meagher and Mr. Duffy addressed the meeting in stirring speeches. 
Both dwelt particularly on the urgent necessity of the people procuring 
aims at once. Their remarks were carefully noted by two government 
reporters specially detailed for that purpose. 

On the day following the Waterford demonstration, Messrs. Meagher and 
Duffy attended a meeting of the United Repealers of Kilkenny and were 
most warmly received. Here also, both gentlemen forcibly dwelt on the 
paramount duty of every true man arming, so as to be prepared for any 
contingency. From Kilkenny they returned to Dublin, in which city the 
trials of O'Brien and Meagher for sedition were set down for the beginning 
of the ensuing week. 



174 MEMOIBS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

ARREST OF JOHN MITCHEL FOR TREASON-FELONY. — COMMENCE- 
MENT OF SMITH O'BRIEN'S TRIAL. — SCENES 
LN DUBLIN. 

ie who despoil the sods of toll saw ye this sight to-day, 
When stalwart trade in long brigade beyond a king's array, 
Marched In the blessed light of heaven, beneath the open sky? 
Strong in the might of Sacred Eight, that none dare ask them why. 

C. G. DUFFT. 

Monday, May loth, was the day appointed for the trial Oi ..illiam 
Smith O'Brien. The people looked forward to it with keen interest, but 
without any manifestation of excitement, for they felt that unless the jury 
was notoriously packed, it would not 'return a verdict for the Government. 
— and a disagreement would be tantamount to an acquitial in its effect on 
the popular cause. 

This equanimity was, however, suddenly dispelled, and the popular heart 
roused to excitement when, on Saturday evening, the report that Jobn 
Mitchel was arrested and lodged in Newgate, spread simultaneously all over 
the city. 

As the TreasoD-Felony Act had been specially framed for John Mitchel's 
destruction, his arrest had been anticipated at any moment since the Queen's 
signature had been affixed to the bill. Still, now that the expected blow 
had fallen, its effect was not the less acutely felt. 

Newgate was the " Bastile " of Dublin, and a presentment, akin to con- 
viction, was felt by many of Mitchel*s most earnest disciples, that, if he 
was to come forth a free man from its gloomy, murder-stained precincts, 
the accursed pile should first share the fate of its Parisian prototype. Ani- 
mated by this feeling, they, on that ni&ht, removed their arms from the 
secret receptacles in which they were so recently stored, and, before mor- 
ning they had their newly-burnished pikes mounted, and all other requisite 
preparations made to respond promptly when the eagerly-expected "Word" 
was passed. 

What manner of men these Confederates were, may be learned from the 



TEE MUSTER OF TEE CLUBS. 175 

following impartial account of their public appearance — as an escort to the 
44 Prosecuted Patriots,"' — given by the papers of the day: — 

THE MUSTER OF THE CLUBS. 

/ Monday, May 15th, 1S48. 

(From the Freeman.) 

"This day being appointed for the trial of William Smith O'Brien, the 
city was astir from an early hour. The fact of Mr. Mitchel's unexpected 
arrest tended much to quicken the excitement which filled the trading com- 
munity, at least, of this metropolis. 

" From an early hour the club-rooms, from which it had been resolved 
to send members to attend the prosecuted gentlemen to the courts, were 
filled with eager occupants. As we passed through the leading streets, we 
could not help remarking, by his staid gait and respectable appearance, every 
individual member, however isolated, wending his way to the trysting-place. 

"As the clubs formed in their respective rooms, they marched three 
abreast, in military style, keeping the step with remarkable accuracy. The 
centre of meeting was Westland Row. Here, in Mr. Murphy's, next to Gil- 
bert's Hotel, were Messrs. Smith O'Brien and T. F. Meagher, (the latter of 
whom had previously arrived at the head of the Swift Club). As each club 
defiled before the house, the cheering was of the most enthusiastic nature. 

"When the heads of the columns had formed, the members made a 
detour, and fell into close file, passing along Westland Low up to Lower 
Merrion street, which presented a better notion than we had hitherto pos- 
sessed of the great strength and respectability of those who composed the 
clubs. 

" Sixteen clubs in all, (of which we we were only able to take a rapid 
sketch,) under, early as it was, a scorching sun, defiled before the lodgings 
of Mr. O'Brien, in Westland Row. 

" It being now a quarter to ten o'clock, the procession formed. The 
Davis Club was the first to arrive on the ground. It was headed by Thomas 
D'Arcy M'Gee, and counted about five hundred fine young men, evidently 
respectable. 

"li may be well here to observe of all clubs, comprising at a fair calcula- 
tion at least ten thousand persons, there did not appear present one who, 
in point of correct and manly bearing, as well as respectability of exterior, 
would not present to the stranger a creditable specimen of the young men 
of our city; in fact, to quote the words of an intelligent Englishman, who 



176 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

was an anxious and deeply interested spectator of the procession, ' This was 
no Irish rabble.' Each and every man forming that immense escort looked 
and acted as if impressed with the seriousness of the duty he came to per- 
form, and conscious of an individual responsibility in upholding his dignity 
as an Irish citizen. 

" Xext followed the Swift Club, numbering six hundred and twenty 
members, headed by Richard O'Gorman, Esq., Jun. This club walked, as 
did the preceding club, three abreast, and drew up in front of the path- 
way, occupying part of Leinster street and Lower Merrion street. 

11 The Grattan Club next approached, headed by T. F. Meagher; its num- 
bers were considerably augmented by the coalition of another club, and it 
could not have numbered less than eight hundred members. 

" The St. Patrick's Club approached next, headed, in the absence of its 
president (Mr. John Mitchel,) by his brother, W. H. Mitchel, Esq. 

"The Doctor Doyle Club was next, led by Mr. Halpin and Mr. Watson. 
"The Curran Club, headed by J. B. Dillon, Esq. 

"These bodies numbered from four hundred to five hundred, respectively 
— a splendid body of young men. 

" The Student's Club, with which was associated the Mercantile Assist- 
ants' Club, followed, headed by R. D. Williams, Esq., and Kevin I. O'Do- 
herty, Esq. 

" The Fitzgerald Club, from Harold's-cross, a new club, numbering about 
one hundred men. 

" Then followed the Hamilton Rowen Club, the Clonskeagh, the Wil- 
liamstown, and other new clubs — forming in all as fine a body of young 
men, of as manly bearring and respectable appearance, as w r ere ever seen 
met to vindicate the justice of any cause, or to celebrate its triumph. 

" The Eacelagh, Sandymount, Irishtown, and Sheare's Clubs, all new 
clubs, arriving late, had to fall in with some of the older clubs. Altogether 
there were sixteen clubs. 

"Along Great; Brunswick street, through which the clubs marched to 
their rendezvous, along Westland Row, (where Mr. Smith O'Brien resides,) 
through Upper and Lower Merrion streets and Leinster street, the trottoir, 
and even the midway were densely crowded with people; groups were 
crowded at every window — every balcony and standing-place had its space 
ailed with anxious spectators. From an early hour in the morning the 
lodgings of Mr. Smith O'Brien were crowded with numbers of his friends, 
rt'ho called to present him with assurances of their regard and sympathy. 
"When Mr. O'Brien, accompanied by Mr. Meagher and several of their 



THE MUSTER OF THE CLUBS. 177 

friends appeared on the street, word was passed to the head of the proces- 
.•n, and the leading files were put in motion, proceeding up 

Nassau Street. 

" Here the scene presented a most imposing aspect. From the narrow- 
ess of the street, the procession and the crowds accompanying it filled 
pu the entire way. The windows and balconies of the houses were filledt 
with ladies, who responded to the hearty cheers from below by waving 
handkerchiefs, &c. The railings of the College park — up which numbers 
had climbed — afforded a view of the procession as it passed. 

"As the head of the procession turned into Grafton street, additional 
crowds joined it from the various neighboring localities; and numerous as 
he assemblage was before, it appeared nearly doubled at this point — the 
doors and windows of the houses presenting the same exhiliratiug demon- 
strations from groups of the fair sex, crowded at every point where a view 
could be obtained. The crowd became still more dense as the cortege ap- 
proached 

College Green. 

" This wa.s, perhaps, one of the most interesting phases in the entire 
procession. Whilst the attendant crowd, and the occupants of the windows 
and balconies, cheered loudly as the procession passed the Irish House of 
Parliament, the members of the clubs evinced no outward signs of the feel- 
ings of deep love and hope which the sight of their senate-house caused to 
burn within them, save by uncovering as they passed. No ebulition of 
party spirit was mani f ested as the procession defiled past the statue of 
Kino; William — not a sneer nor a groan — no hooting — no yelling; and save 
when a cheer was raised now and then as new accessions were added to 
the procession, nothing was heard but the tramp onward in measured time 
of men, whose bearing and appearance would be a credit to the metropolis 
of any nation. It would be but to repeat what we have already stated, 
were we to describe the scene as the illustrious accused and his escor 
passed onward through Dame street. 

" We may observe that he walked with the Rev. Mr. Meehan, Mr. Comyn 
of Woodstock, Joseph Henry Dunne, and Sir Simon Bradstreet. The other 
gentlemen of the committee of the Loyal National Repeal Association and 
the Confederation Council followed in order. The clubs, as we have stated, 
were headed by their presidents respectively. 

The Quays and Bridges. 

" On arriving at Essex Bridge, and looking backwrad the coicpdceil was iva 



178 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

posing in the extreme. The Royal Exchange, with its dark columns, formed 
the background of a vista through which moved one dense tide of human 
beings, the effect being rendered still more impressive by the silence which 
pervaded the immense multitude. The balustrades and lamp-irons on the 
bridges were mounted by clusters of spectators. The windows of the ware- 
houses and private residences at this point presented an unusually gay spec- 
tacle, and as the procession passed the bridge, and wheeled round the quay 
towards the courts, one mighty cheer burst forth, which was taken up and 
re-echoed to the very gates of the Four Courts, announcing to those inside 
awaiting the commencement of the proceedings the arrival of Smith O'Brien 
to take his trial before a jury of his countrymen for sedition. As the pro- 
cession approached the gates, the leading files passed on and formed in line 
along the pathway at the river side, the rear falling into two lines, through 
which Mr. O'Brien, accompanied by his friends, the members of the Asso- 
ciation Committee, and the leading Confederates, passed amidst enthusiastic 
cheering, and attended by many a fervent and loudly-uttered wish that he 
might come forth free and triumphant. 

"The clubs, on leaving Messrs. O'Brien and Meagher at the courts, 
re-formed, and proceeded to visit John Mitchel in Newgate. When the word 
was given, the dense mass of people who crammed the quay opened, as if 
by magic, and through this lane the clubs passed in living mass and close 
column. They first proceeded up. 

Church Street, 

which, although it was packed from side to side, did not present one single 
instance of obstruction. They then turned into 

North King Street and Halston Street. 

"The long line passed by the Little Green, the people cheering vocifer- 
ously as they first caught sight of the rear of 

Newgate. 

" The applause was kept up until the head of the column reached the 
front of the prison in 

Green Street. 

" On the steps of the prison stood six police in two files, with a reserve 
of a similar number in the entrance to the ' Hatch.' 

"Mrs. Mitchel, the young and exceedingly interesting lady of the inmate 
of the prison, was leaving the prison with Mr. Iieilly as the procession 
turned into Green street. The street and steps of the prison were instantly 
blocked up. 



THE MUSTER OF THE CLUBb. 179 

"As the first club fronted the gaol, a deafening cheer was raised, all 
the inmates of the opposite houses joining in the chorus, waving, at the 
same time, hats and handkerchief*. During this moving scene. Mrs. Mitchel 
bore herself like a heroine, and as she moved her hand in thankfulness the 
applause was stunning. Mr. Reilly remained uncovered during the proceed- 
ings, and received more than one hearty cheer. 

•' As the St. Patrick's Club came up in front of the gaol, the excite- 
ment became more intense. A tall, powerful-looking gentlemanly individual, 
stood out from the front rank, and exclaimed in a sonorous voice, which 
was heard afar over the vast crowd: — '■This is The Felon's Club!'' The 
club instantaneously uncovered and marched past in funeral pace. 

" The whole scene was wonderfully affecting. All passed on in dead 
silence until the last line, when a cheer, sustained with marvellous power 
of lung, rang from out the crowd which encompassed the gaol. So hearty 
was this shout of thunder — so much in earnest seemed the aspect of the 
multitude — that the police recoiled; and, as was said by a by-stander, ' If 
the people wished to break the peace there were enough there to eat up 
the gaol.' 

" But all passed off in the utmost peacefulness, and the clubs passed up 
Bolton street and Capel street to the quays, falling oft* to their respective 
club-rooms, and finally dispersing. An immense crowd, however, remained 
around the courts." 

As a participator in the demonstration so graphically described, I can 
bear personal testimony to the general fidelity of the reporter's pencil. 
With regard, however, to the scene in front of Newgate, when Mrs. Mitchel 
appeared on the steps with Mr. Reilly, I can add a little information rel- 
ative to an incident which possibly escaped the professional gentleman's 
observation, owing to his position at the moment it transpired. 

" The leading files of the Swift Club had just arrived opposite the en- 
trance to Newgate, when the club's vice-president, Thomas Devin Reilly, 
came forth from the prison, leading a slight, and very fair young lady 
with a sweetly pensive face and light auburn hair. At the sight of the 
two the club halted, and some one having observed — " That's Mrs. Mitchel!" 
all heads were uncovered and a cheer rang out, which was taken up by 
the entire column, and reverberated from the surrounding houses. Both Mrs. 
Mitchel and Mr. Reilly gracefully acknowledged the salutation, the lady's 
blue eyes flashing with prideful excitement, while those of her impulsive 
escort were glistening with the moisture that sprang from an overflowing 
heart. 

Again, and again, the cheers were repeated — to the evident gratification 



180 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

of the lady, arid the no less evident mortification of the police around her 
One of the latter — whether actuated by fear of a rush on the open prison 
door by the excited crowd — or by natural ruffianism and malignity — at- 
tempted to push the lady back into the gaol, but she declined to move, 
and clung to the railing, in resistance to his efforts. He was about trying 
to loosen her grasp — when a fierce cry of — "Hands off there!'''' rang out 
from the ranks, and. heeding the ominous warning, the ruffian — pale with 
terror, retreated with his associates into the prison and hastily closed the 
door. 

It was well they did so — for that moment was the crisis of their lives; 
ten seconds' hesitation — and Newgate would have more inmates than ever it 
had since its foundation ; and, though no weapons were visible amongst them 
— all were not dependent on their naked hands for a contest at close- 
quarters. 

What a grand subject for an Irish historical picture that scene in front 
of Newgate would have made — had a capable artist been present? 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

THEOUGH PETTICOAT LANE. 

'Tis to the mob that I belong.— Berangeb. 

About two hours after the thrilling incident recorded in the last chap- 
ter had transpired, there was witnessed in the immediate vicinity of New- 
gate — a somewhat different though not less exciting scene, and one which 
vividly reflected the popular temperament in Dublin outside of the regularly 
organized national fores. 

As no reporter witnessed the commencement of this transaction there 
was but little publicity given to it in the daily papers, and that little was 
incorrect in many particulars, and especially so in ascribing the chief credit 
of the tumultuous and extemporary outburst of feeling to the members of 
the Confederate clubs. And yet the incident, as unforeseen as it was un- 
premeditated, afforded one of those fateful opportunities, which, in revolu- 
tionary times, — it promptly taken advantage of — often tend to turn the 
balance in which a nation's destiny is weighed. 

The whole affair was essentially an accident, and it was owing to the 



THROUGH PETTICOAT LANE. 1S1 

merest accident that I was present to witness it, from its inception to its 
close. 

For the information of such of my readers as may be unacquainted 
with the topography of Dublin, I will state that, the open space surround- 
ing Xewgate prison, communicates with the quay on which the Four Courts 
are situated, by several short and narrow lanes — which, in their turn, are 
intersected by others of a similar character. In the vicinity of the prison 
— to the rear — was situated the "Potato-Market"' — usually a bustling, well- 
thronged spot — during business hours. I may also mention that, at the time 
of which I write, the district referred to was one of the most active centres 
of pike-manufacture in the metropolis; — from the fact that a considerable 
portion of its industrious denizens followed the calling of cutlers, smiths, 
nailers, tinkers, and dealers in hardware new or second-hand. 

In company with my two comrades, Bob. Ward and Dan. Magrath, I 
had been on a business mission on behalf of Devin Eeilly to one of the 
most artistic cutlers in Charles street, and when returning to our lodgings, 
through Green street, — just in front of the prison — we met Mr. Eeilly in 
company .with Mr. Vernon, (Mrs. Mitchel's brother). 

While engaged in conversation with these gentlemen we noticed a cov- 
ered car, escorted by some mounted policemen, . drive up to the main en- 
trance of the gaol. A detachment of police on foot followed, some of 
whom drew up on either side of the car, while others took up a position 
at the entrance to one of the lanes leading from Green street to the Four 
Courts. 

Those movements of the officials attracted the attention of the few per- 
sons then in the vicinity, and they congregated in front of the gaol in 
expectation of some unusual occurrence. 

Their anxiety and suspense was soon ended, for presently the prison 
door opened and John Mitchel, attended by a squad of police, came out 
and stood for a few moments on the topmost step. He wore a glazed cap, 
and appeared as resolute, cool, and self-possessed, as ever I saw him, and 
in no way affected by his environments. It was not so with the crowd, 
whom the cry of "Mitchell" "Mitchel!" (shouted excitedly by those who 
first recognized the undaunted "Felon,") attracted— as if sprung from out 
of the ground — so suddenly did they appear on the scene. 

The first ringing cheer was re-echoed from a half-dozen different direc- 
tions, and a stream of human beings came rushing through every street 
debouching on Newgate. In a minute the open space was thronged by the 
stormy multitude, and as the covered car was driven up to the steps 
to receive the prisoner — a cry of " No car! No car!" — "March!" wai 



182 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

raised. Mitchel and his escort having entered the vehicle — the horses wove 
driven at a gallop towards the Courts, with mounted policemen in front, 
rear, and on both sides of the conveyance. 

The crowd was momentarily taken by surprise at the suddenness of the 
onset; but quickly recovering they dashed wildly after the carriage, and 
came up with it as it was dashing into " Pettieoat Lane." Here a strong 
force of police was posted — as if in anticipation of such a movement by 
the people, — and no sooner had the vehicle and its mounted escort entered 
the lane, than they formed across the narrow passage, in double ranks — to 
bar the further progress of the living torrent. But the people's blood was 
up then and they pressed on. 

Devin Reily and his friends happened to be among the foremost to bear 
down on the barred thoroughfare — and he was promptly collared by a stal- 
wart six-footer— who was as promptly levelled as if shot, by a blow be- 
tween the eyes from " Slashing Bob. Ward ! " 

With a shout of triumph and defiance, the crowd swept like a mountain- 
flood through the gap thus formed; — over the prostrate policeman's body they 
tramped — his comrades, leaving him to his fate, and mindful only 'of saving 
themselves — gave way before the resistless stream; and, with faces pale with 
fright, turned to walls on either side, and felt the bounding mass sweep 
on behind them, expecting momentarily to be overwhelmed beneath its an^ry 
gurges. But Bob. Ward's well-timed blow was the only one actually struck 
on that occasion. 

How the gallant fellow would have prided in it, had it been — what for 
a few moments seemed within the bounds of probability — "The first blow of 
The Revolution!" 

That wild rush down the lane can no more be described in its details 
than could the passage of a tornado. The chaotic tumult on every side was 
so bewildering, and the time of its occurrence so brief, that neither eye nor 
ear could take cognizance of the separate elements blended confusedly in 
sight and sound. A lightning-like glimpse at startled, impassioned faces Ail- 
ing open windows in advance of me; or other forms dropping, or leaning, 
from second stories, or rushing from the doors with some hastily-snatched 
weapon in hand; the carriage and its galloping escort a few yards ahead; 
ind in the distance — bounding the view in front— a black mass of resolute 
watchful men lining the quays ; — this was what I saw. 

The rumbling of wheels and clatter of galloping hoofs over the stony 
itreet; the hoarse shouts of angry men; the clamor of excited women and 
} hildren — their shrill cry of "Mitchel! Mitchel !" — " Now boys we have 
him!" 



THROUGH PETTICOAT LAKE. 183 

That is all 1 remember hearing, as with feet scarcely touching the 
ground — I was borne along in the head-long rush — my brain in a whirl of 
excitement — through which, like a flash, came the thought that, in another 
minute, this rushing, living torrent would dash into the human sea in our 
front, communicating thereunto its own impetuous activity and resolute pur- 
pose — and then 

A bitter imprecation gave vent to my feelings, as I saw one of the 
mounted escort grasp the reins from the driver's hands, and suddenly wheel 
to the right and into an open gate leading to the rear of the Four Courts, 
and .within fifty yards of the expectant thousands on the quay. The quickly 
closed gate told the flushed and panting crowd, that their half-formed hope 
was vanished for the time-being; and they joined the eager assemblage in 
front of the Courts to explain the cause of their exitement, and find heart- 
felt sympathy in their disappointment. 

On our return over the same route a few minutes later, we found 
the people earnestly discussing the startling occurrence. One hale old 
man, addressing a group of attentive listeners, observed that, since "Em- 
met's Rebellion, " it was the only time in which he had seen the law de- 
fied in broad daylight in Dublin — and its supporters trampled under foot. 
In further commenting on the fact, he added, — " There certainly is a great 
change coming over the people— and, dear knows, 'tis time for #." 

The greatest and most practical of Ireland's revolutionary leaders, Theo- 
bald Wolfe Tone, in expressing his admiration of the enthusiasm manifested 
by the Parisians in the cause of Liberty and their Native Land, said — " We 
must move Heaven and earth to create such enthusiasm in Ireland." 

In Revolutionary times, the exhibition of such enthusiasm as that of 
the "mob" in Petticoat Lane, is a healthy sign of the body politic, and 
no leader, who aspires to emulate Tone, should under-estimate its value as 
an element of popular strength — or fail to take prompt advantage of its 
outburst at an opportune moment. 

But little consideration was given the occurrence related above at the 
time it transpired — owing, principally, to the public attention being concen- 
trated on the State Prosecutions. My principal reason for referring to it at 
present, is to show that the unorganized element of the Dublin workmen, 
were as eager to respond to a call on their patriotism in a life-and-death 
struggle for Ireland, as their more carefully prepared fellow-citizens of the 
Confederate Clubs. 

John Mitchel's transfer from Newgate to the Four Courts was for the 
purpose of attending the reduction of his jury list at the crown office. The 
business completed, he was brought back to prison in the common police- 



184 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

van, escorted by a large body of horse and foot police. The return was, 
however, made by a different route than that taken to the Courts, foi 
obvious reasons. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



THE STATE PBOSECUTIONS. — O'BRIEN AND MEAGHEE DIS- 

CHAEGED. — " CONSTITUTIONAL " GOVERNMENT 

A FAILURE. 

The trial of Smith O'Brien for sedition occupied but a single day. The 
speeches for the prosecution and the examination of witnesses took up 
about two-thirds of the time. Then the judge and jury retired for a brief 
period, and on their return Mr. Isaac Butt, Q. C, rose to address the jury 
for the defence. He delivered what the reporters styled— "an able and 
eloquent address," at the conclusion of which Sergeant Warren replied on 
behalf of the crown— stating the law of the case to the jury. Then the 
Chief Justice, in a speech of an hour's duration, endeavored to impress the 
jury with a sense of their responsibilities, and at half-past six o'clock that 
body retired for deliberation, but failing to come to an agreement, were 
locked up for the night. 

On the court opening next morning the jury were called in, and the 
foreman stating that there was no possibility of their agreeing on a ver- 
dict, they were discharged — as was also the traverser. 

Thomas Francis Meagher's trial comnunced on Tuesday, May lGth. 
The proceedings incident thereto, including the preliminary escort of the 
clubs, differed but little from those that took place at the trial of his^com- 
patriot. Mr. Butt defended him with his usual ability, and the jury could 
not be induced to agree on a verdict; thev had retired at a quarter to four 
o'clock, and at five minutes past five the Chief Justice sent for them, but 
in reply to his query if they had agreed, he was informed by the foreman 
that they "had not, nor was there any chance of their agreeing — for there 
were two gentlemen who said they would not agree with the others." 
They were accordingly locked up for the night. 

On the following morning the jury were again brought into court, and 
having answered to their names, 



TEE STATE PROSECUTIONS. 185 

The Registrar asked, "Gentlemen, have you agreed to your verdict?" 

Foreman — " We have not." 

Chief Justice — "Are you likely to agree, gentlemen?" 

Foreman — "We are not, my lord." 

Chief Justice — "Then I discharge you." 

At this moment one of the jurymen — an auctioneer named Thomas Fer- 
rall — in his anxiety to relieve himself and his fellows, of the true blue 
stripe, from the suspicion of disloyalty — " let the cat out of the bag," by 
exclaiming, in an aggrieved tone — 

" We are eleven to one, my lord, and that one is a Roman Catholic." 
(Considerable sensation followed Mr. Ferrall's revelation). 

The incautious "tell-tale" was, however, slightly mistaken; for, in addi- 
tion to that; contumacious " Roman Catholic," there was an honest Protestant 
who also dissented from the majority— and said so at the time. 

Mr. Meagher, accompanied by Mr. O'Brien, his friends and counsel, then 
left the court, and resumed his place in the procession of Confederates 
which had escorted him from the Council-rooms, in D'Olier street, that mor- 
ning — the cheering multitude crossed over the bridge and marched by the 
opposite quays to their starting-point opposite the Council-rooms. Here they 
drew up in compact lines and were addressed from the windows by Messrs. 
Meaglser and O'Brien. 

Both gentlemen congratulated their fellow-countrymen on the triumphs they 
had just won, and Mr. O'Brien announced that in a few days arrangements 
would be made for holding an open-air aggregate meeting of the working- 
men of Dublin, to protest against any attempt on the part of the govern- 
ment to pack the jury before whom John Mitchel was to be tried for 
treason-felony. 

On the evening of Meagher's trial, at about nine o'clock, the clubs assem- 
bled in their full strength on D'Olier street, for the special purpose of 
making a demonstration in front of Newgate in honor of John Mitchel, 
and also, to celebrate the victory in the law-courts by a parade through 
the principal streets of the city. It was, in my opinion, the most imposing 
exhibition of disciplined strength yet made, at that exciting period, in the 
Irish metropolis. 

The clubs formed in column of fours, and in that order, marched along 
the quays to the Four Courts, and thence to Newgate prison, on passing 
which, each club gave three cheers for — "The Felon," which were repeated 
along the whole line with startling ett'ect. 

From the prison the column marched in silence on their selected route, 
finally crossing the bridge from Sackville street to D'Olier street, where an 



186 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

immense concourse had assembled, through the midst of which the clubs 
marched, and took up their station in the Council-room — when they were 
addressed by Meagher in a jubilaut speech. 

The clubs then marched to Smith O'Brien's residence in Westland Row, 
and cheered him enthusiastically. Thence they passed on through Merrion 
Square, Merrion Row, and Stephen's Green to Leeson street — fluttering the 
aristocratic loyalists and Castle toadies of those localities — until, arriving 
at the residence of Mr. Butt, they deployed into line, and gave the popu- 
lar advocate a hearty greeting — showing how they appreciated his efforts in 
defence of their i rusted leaders. After leaving Mr. Butt's the Clubs took up 
then- line of march through Stephen's Green, Grafton street, and West- 
moreland street — into Sackville street, where they disbanded. 

The Castle authorities seemed to attach special significance to this noc- 
turnal parade of the popular forces. Whether they fancied the possibility 
of its being a prelude to the opening of the anticipated revolutionary drama 
or were urged into action by the fears of the ultra-loyalists — who were hor- 
rified at this irruption of the commonality into their exclusive precincts — 
may be an open question. But, at all events, there can be no doubt that 
Lord Clarendon felt called upon to intervene in such manifestations of pop- 
ular sentiment. Accordingly, he issued a " Proclamation" — forbidding such 
assemblages in future — on penalty of dire consequences to wmoever did not 
heed the warning. Smith O'Brien promptly took up the Vice-regal gauntlet, 
and issued a counter proclamation, exhorting the citizens to uphold their 
rights, and daring their enemies to interfere in their threatened arbitrary 
fashion. 

Thousands of this document were printed, and, wherever Clarendon's 
"manifesto'' was posted throughout the city — its antidote was seen in its 
immediate proximity. Evidently some party must back down — or there was 
"fun,"' at no great distance ahead. 

Impressed with this conviction, my comrades and self were on the look 
out for its first appearance. Our praiseworthy undertaking was singularly 
favored by Fortune — for, on the night following the appearance of Smith 
0'Brien"s proclamation, as we strolled over Carlisle Bridge, on our way to 
D'Olier street, we were confronted by a strong body of police in the act 
of forming across the latter thoroughfare. Quickening our pace, we passed 
into the street — bef 01 e the blockading line had reached the sidewalk — and 
there halted, awaiting developments. We had not long to wait, for three 
men w T ere coming down D Olier street; — two of whom we recognized as 
Dr. John Gray, proprietor of the Freeman's Journal — and his brother, Wil- 
son Gray, Esq. The Doctor, accosting Ward, enquired the meaning of this 



THE STATE PBOSECUTIONS. 1S7 

obstruction of the public street? '-Bob." — who entertained the most supreme 
contempt for the dapper ex-"Kepeal Martyr's" " fence-straddliug" proclivities 
— professed his inability to solve the conundrum, and, maliciously, referred 
his interlocutor to the "obstructionists" for the required information. 

With the proud strut of a pugnacious bantam, and a dignity becoming 
the future Lord Mayor of Dublin, the little doctor attempted to brush 
through the confronting ranks. But a rude push, accompanied by a peremp- 
tory — " Stand back there ! " — brought him to a sudden halt, and suffused 
his smooth, rosy cheeks with the deeper flush of passionate indignation. 

"What!" he exclaimed, "is the meaning of this outrage? Has it come 
to this, that a citizen of Dublin can't walk the streets of his native city?" 

"It just has, then I" was the cool and insulting reply. "So stand back, 
at your peril ! " 

But our hero's blood was up, and as he seemed inclined to give the 
upholder of "Law and Order" a further "piece of his mind," he was in- 
continently arrested, together with his two companions, and marched off to 
the Head Police Office in College street — followed by the amused orowd 
that had, meanwhile, collected at the barrier. As, however, the curiosity- 
hunters were denied admission to Mr. Porter's reception room, we retired. 

When on our way home through Capel street, we called at the rooms 
of the Curran Club, where Ward gave the members a graphic description 
of Dr. Gray's rencounter with " Clarendon's bullies," it was received with 
cheers — one enthusiast shouting — 

"There goes the '•last plank of Ihe Constitution I ' Doctor!" 

This phrase had reference to a declaration recently made by the cau- 
tious Editor of the Freeman — that he would "stand on the platform of the 
Constitution until the last plauk was swept from under him," — and then 

When Lord Clarendon ordered the police to blockade the approaches to 
the Council-rooms of the Irish Confederation, he was well aware that no 
muster of the clubs in the vicinity was contemplated for that night, conse- 
quently he anticipated no danger of a collision with the citizens then. But, 
as the open-air meeting of the citizens was announced to take place on the 
Sunday following, he calculated that, by this show of determination to en- 
force his proclamation against the clubs marching in procession — the latter 
might be induced to heed the warning and forego their expressed intention 
to maintain their rights. 

It was a veritable "game of bluff" with the wily and unscrupulous 
occupant of the Castle. He might succeed in forcing his opponents to throw 
up their hand — and, if so, their cause was doomed — as surely as was 



188 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

O'Connell's after the "Clontarf back-down." But, if such were his calcula- 
tions, they were based on a mistaken estimate of the people's resolution. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



THE TEST OF MANHOOD 

•Tis the Green — oh, the Green is the color of the true, 

And we'll back it 'gainst the orange, and we'll raise it o'er the blue. 

John Edward Pigot ("Fermoy.") 

Sunday, May 21st, was the day appointed by the council for the hold- 
ing of the aggregate meeting. The clubs had received orders to assemble 
at noon, at their several halls, and march from thence by the most direct 
route to the place of meeting — (which was at Bellview — in the suburbs of 
the city, where Mr. Emiis, an extensive manufacturer, had given the large 
area within his premises for the purpose). 

At no previous time — since the date of the French Pievolution, — did the 
Confederates see more cause to anticipate a collision with the government 
authorities than on that morning. All the political occurrences of the past 
week, and more especially the issuing of the rival ''proclamations," and the 
subsequent threatening display of the police force on the streets, tended to 
that dk-ection. All classes of the population — both friends and foes — the 
peaceably disposed and those belligerently inclined — though animated by 
different feelings of anxiety, or hope, seemed to concur in the opinion that, 
if the clubs carried out their avowed determination to march, as heretofore, 
through the streets — a fight was inevitable. Under these circumstances, it 
must be acknowledged, that, in facing the contingency — and what, in their 
opinion, was the certainty — of an ambushed attack from a treacherous and 
vindictive foe — and, —in obedience to the orders of their trusted leaders — 
doing so unarmed — the Dublin club-men exhibited a very high degree of 
disciplined moral courage; and. judging from what transpired under my per- 
sonal observation on that occasion — the leaders proved essentially worthy of 
the implicit confidence reposed in their judgment and resolution. 

The Swift Club and its President, Richard O'Gorman, Jun., were spe- 
cially destined on that day to represent their compatriots in standing the 
test of manhood, and most nobly did they pass through the ordeal. 



THE TEST OF MANHOOD. 1S9 

At an early hour on that bright May morning, Edward Eoach, color- 
bearer of the club, flung the "Green Flag" — bearing the motto — 

"Moukir Pour La Patrie," 

from the window of No. 31 Queen street. The signal of defiance soon at- 
tracted an excited crowd to the vicinity, and long before the time appoint- 
ed for the muster of the club, Queen street was black with people — from 
end to end. Judging from the flashing eyes and determined appearance of 
the mass, as I approached the club-room I felt confident that, if it came 
to blows, the regular organization would not have to fight it out alone, and 
(what was still more assuring,) that their volunteer allies would not — like 
them — engage in the melee empty-handed. 

Before entering the building I learned that a large body of police — 
constituting nearly one-third of the entire force of the city — had just taken 
up a position on Black Hall place — on the club's proposed line of march — 
and within a few hundred yards of the Royal Barracks. I could see that 
the news intensified the excitement of the crowd, and that many of the 
most determined-looking hastily left. 

I found the club-room fast filling with the regular members, and soon 
after my entrance, the cheering in the street announced the arrival of Rich- 
ard O'Gorrnan. Somewhat to our surprise, we saw that he was accompanied 
by the Most Rev. Doctor Yore, one of the most distinguished Catholic cler- 
gymen in Dublin. The good priest, — animated by love of the people, and 
an tamest desire to prevent a possibility of bloodshed — which he evidently 
feared would result from the club's marching in procession in defiance of 
the Lord Lieutenant's proclamation, and his police in position on the route 

— was pathetically appealing to Mr. O'Gorman to abandon the idea of at- 
tending the meeting with his followers in procession, but rather to advise 
them to go there individually. 

But O'Gorman declined to accede to his request. He told him that 
; ' the club would not be deterred Irom exercising their undoubted right by 
any fear of what the authorities might contemplate doing to prevent them 

— that, if blood was shed, let those who caused it bear the responsibility 
of the crime, and take the consequences." 

The President then issued his oiclers to the men to form and take up 
their position on the sidewalk. His directions were promptly obeyed, and 
the men, in column of lours, filed down stairs and into the street. They 
were received in respectful silence by the waiting crowd — who had received 
instructions to that effect. 

Here again. Dr. Yore made a final appeal to Mr. O'Gorman to recede 



190 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FEANCIS MEAGHER. 

from his determination. I cannot recall his touching arguments, but O'Gor- 
man's reply I well remember. It was in these words: — "Dr. Yore, 1 ap- 
preciate the motiv» s which actuate you in making this request, but I cannot 
comply with it : — for the Council of the Irish Confederation has decided 
that the clubs shall march to the meeting — and this club will march there!" 

Just at this moment Mr. O'Gorman was approached by a Police Inspec- 
tor, who addressed him some words in a low tone of voice, so that, though 
standing within a few yard of the two, I could not catch their import. 
But Mr. O'Gorman's reply rang distinctly over the attentive multitude: — 

" Whatever communication you wish to make to me, sir, I request that 
it be made so that all concerned shall hear it." 

"Well, then!" said the Inspector, in a conciliatory tone, "I simply re- 
quest, that you will promise on behalf of your friends here, that they will 
pass on to the place of meeting in an orderly manner, and not do anything- 
that may tend to a violation of the peace ! " 

O'Gorman, in a dignified manner, replied: — 

" Sir, my friends here are intelligent, self-respecting citizens who know 
their duty, and require no advice as to how to perform it." 

"That's all I require, Mr. O'Gorman — all is right now," said the offi- 
cer — and he bowed politely and retired. 

I never learned that officer's name; but whoever he was, or whatever 
his actuating motives were, he kept his implied pledge ; — for, when, in a 
few minutes afterwards, the club marched past four hundred policemen 
drawn up in line on an open space, flanking the line of march — and where, 
if disposed to take advantage of their position for attack, they had the 
Confederates at a decided disadvantage, they gave not the least sign of 
hostility, but looked on stolidly as the tramping column swept by in si- 
lence, and as if in utter indifference to their presence in such close prox- 
imity. Still, I have no doubt, that many a man — at both sides — breathed 
somewhat easier when that "march past in review'''' was over. 

Without any other incident worth recording, all the clubs arrived on 
time at the place of meeting. 

At that moment the culminating point of their power was attained, al- 
beit they were not aware of the fact. That it should be so fated was owing 
to no fault of the trusting rank and file of this glorious confederacy of 
earnest, self-sacrificing patriots. 



SCB A PS OF HIStn OBY. 191 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE MEETING. — CAUSE AND EFFECT. —SCRAPS OF HISTORY. 
Facts are chiels that winna' ding, an' dow na be disputed. — Burns. 

The great aggregate meeting was held for the purpose of taking such 
steps as would ensure John Mitchel a fair trial, in his contest with the 
English government — which was to be decided during the coming week. 
The almost total exclusion of Catholics from the juries that tried O'Brien 
and Meagher, gave the public a foretaste of what was to be expected in 
the case of the more dangerous offender — for whose destruction a new po- 
litical offence was created by special act of Parliament. All se ctions of 
Repealers met in public meeting to protest against the system of packing 
juries; to pass "resolutions" couched in language suited to the audience, and 
vaguely hint at the possible consequences that may follow should their 
warnings be unheeded. 

"While this line of action was what might be expected from men who 
still looked to "■constitutional" methods for regenerating Ireland, it was 
hardly that, which those most closely identified with the principles incul- 
cated by John Mitchel, expected to see taken by his colleagues on the oc- 
casion in question. Up to the hour when the meeting opened, these men 
confidently believed that, — cost what it may — John Mitchel would never 
be permitted to leave Dublin a victim of English fraud, or English force. 
They believed also, — nor had they reason to think otherwise — that all their 
most trusted leaders held to this determination, — (for such of them as did 
not avow it, in unmistakable language — left it to be so inferred — by their 
silence.) 

Therefore, it is not a matter of surprise that many of those who at- 
tended the meeting came away with but a vague comprehension of the pur- 
port of the resolutions passed thereat, and likewise, of the ultimate action 
which those who prepared the resolutions meant to take. 

The Meeting Called to Order. 
On the motion of Thomas F. Meagher, Esq., the chair was taken by 

John B. Dillon, Esq. 
After some observations from the chairman, delivered in his usual gray- 



192 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

ity of tone, and calculated rather to prevent, than to excite, any exhibition 
of enthusiasm in the attentive audience, the following resolution was pro- 
posed by 

\ Mr. Eichard O'Gokman, Jun. 

" Resolved, — That while we are unwilling to identify this Confederation 
with all the opinions of John Mitchel, we recognize in him a fearless and 
devoted fellow-soldier in the war which we are now waging against English 
oppression. 

"That, as such, we demand for him a fair trial before a fairly-selected 
jury; and if that demand be not complied with, and this champion of Irish 
liberty be convicted by a jury selected for that purpose, we pledge ourselves 
to use all means, not inconsistent with morality, to bring to punishment all 
parties concerned in the perpetration of so foul a wrong." 

Mr. Crean, in an able speech, seconded the resolution. 

Mr. T. F. Meagher's Speech on John Mitchel. 

Mr. T. F. Meagher proposed the next resolution. He spoke as follows : — 

"If any citizen of Dublin came here this day with a view of hearing 
me deliver a speech, he has come with an anxiety which cannot be grati- 
fied. (Laughter). It may be, perhaps, too presumptious for me to suppose 
that any one came here for this purpose, and I trust that a better motive 
has influenced your movement on this day. I trust that it is not to grati- 
fy an idle curiosity, but that it is to manifest an unequivocal sympathy with 
John Mitchel that you have assembled here in such numbers, exhibiting in 
the face of the police proclamation so determined an aspect. (Cheers). 

" In the opinions which have been expressed by the gentleman who pre- 
ceded me, I need not say that I most cordially concur. I would wish, indeed, 
that the expression of such sentiments as yours — that the utterance of great 
passions — would have the effect that we desire — that of warning the gov- 
ernment to treat this true citizen, who is now in prison, as one whose pa- 
triotism has sanctified his person. (Cheers). 

•• I believe that a conviction in his case will shake the foundations of 
the English power in this country to their very centre — will lodge in that 
power the cancerous elements of disloyalty, and that, whether it be within 
an immediate, or within a remote time, that element will manifest itself in 
a terrible retribution upon the government that now, conscious of its mili- 
tary power, dares to violate what is styled the sanctuary of the constitu- 
tion. 

"I need not say this — that you look upon John Mitchel as the person- 
ification of Irish liberty. (Loud cheering). I do most willingly accord to 



S CHAPS OF HIS TOBY. 



him the merit of that attitude which the Irish people have assumed at the 
present moment. (Hear, hear). I am the more willing to do so, because 
there may be in the minds of some, a feeling that there is a rivalship ex- 
isting between him and a few members of the Irish Confederation, I, who 
have remained in the Confederation, and have taken up something like a 
prominent position in that body, most willingly accord to him the merit of 
having freed the soul of this nation from all the mists, and doubts, and 
prejudices, which clutg around it, and cramped its energies and passions, 
and caused that soul to spring up, and to believe only in one way to Irish 
liberty. (Cheers). I do, then, proclaim him to be the imprisoned apostle of 
the new gospel, (loud cheers) ; and as I believe in what Mr. O'Gorman has 
said — and if it be a superstition, I glory in the superstition — as I believe 
that his enthusiasm has descended from Heaven, so from the same source 
will descend into that prison a power which will burst the bars and bolts, 
and give freedom to the prisoner. (Loud cheers). 

"Time at last sets all things even; 

And if jou co but wait the hour, 

There never yet was human power 
Which could evade, if uniorgiven, 

The patient watch and vigil long 

Of those who treasure up a wrong." 

" The following resolution has been placed in my hands, and I have 
the honor to move it: — 

"Besolved, — That trial by jury for the trial of prisoners obnoxious to 
the authorities, instituted in this country, abolishes the right of trial by 
jury in toto, as far as such prisoners are concerned, and adds the crowning 
proof to the many formerly afforded us, that neither the lives nor proper- 
ties of Irishmen are safe under an administration which could sanction such 
a proceeding." 

Mr. M*Gee seconded the resolution in an eloquent speech, and was fol- 
lowed by John Martin, who briefly remarked that " the object of the meet- 
ing was to declare their determination to use all the exertions in their 
power to get a fair trial for Mr. Mitchel, and the resolution says that the 
packing of a jury is an assassination. Do you," said Mr. Martin, "consider 
it is such ! " 

"Yes, yes!'* 

"Are you determined to hold by that opinion?" 

"Yes, yes!" 

" Then I will trouble you no further. I have no more to say." 

13 



194 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



The meeting having closed, the clubs marched back to their respective 
club-rooms, unmolested, with the exception of the Grattan Club (Meagher's,) 
which the authorities attempted to impede on their route; but Meagher, and 
a section of his men, burst through the obstructionists, and were followed, 
with but little delay, by the rest of their comrades — and so ended that 
eventful day for the Irish cause — leaving an undefinable feeling of uncer- 
tainty behind it, such as the club-men had not hitherto experienced. 

It was the ominous "shadow of coming events." 

From what quarter was that bodeful shadow cast? It came not from 
the direction of " the Castle." It did not emanate either from open or 
secret enemies, or lukewarm friends of the Irish cause. It came from the 
Council-rooms of the Confederation. The following passages from Sir Char- 
les Gavan Duffy's "Four Years of Irish History," will serve to elucidate 
the story 

In reference to the crisis which Mitchel's approaching trial was sure to 
bring, he says : — 

"In the Council there was deep anxiety and alarm. They felt that the 
Government could not afford to be defeated again, and defeated by a man 
who had so often predicted this disaster. Whatever angry power and ma- 
lignant skill could do to obtain a verdict was certain to be d«ne. The 
question was how could it be averted? To inflame opinion till it grew 
red hot against the base practice of jury-packing might alarm the class of 
jurors upon whom the Castle counted. A great open-air meeting of Confed- 
erates was summoned for this purpose, and the general body of citizens called 
a meeting in the Royal Exchange with a similar object. 

" It was necessary to consider, at the same time, what was to be done 
in case of a conviction. A small minority of the Council thought prepara- 
tions ought immediately to be made for a rescue. If the Government could 
carry off a man who had so completely identified himself with the revolu- 
tion it would greatly dishearten the people. It was determined to ascertain 
the wishes of the clubs, and their state of preparation.'" * 

" Meagher and O'Gorman made a personal inspection of the Dublin 
clubs with a view to determine whether, as far as they were concerned a 
rescue was feasible." * * * * 

" O'Brien and Dillon were convinced before this survey of the clubs 
that a rescue could not be undertaken without ruin to the cause. * * • 



Four Years of Irish History," pages 594-5. 



SCBAPS OF HISTORY. 195 



Dillon moved a resolution to this effect in the Council, and after a frank 
statement of the case it encountered no serious opposition." 

Note. — The annexed extracts from the Minute Book of the Irish Con- 
federation, are quoted on pages 59S-9 of the book referred to: — 

" May 18. — Mr. Dillon moved a resolution that any outbreak or viola- 
tion of the peace on the occasion of Mr. Mitchel's trial would be mischiev- 
ous if not fatal to the national cause, and earnestly called on the citizens 
to refrain. A copy of this resolution, on the motion of O'Brien, was sent 
to all the clubs in Dublin." 

"Friday, May 19. — Mr. Gavan Duffy moved that no procession of the 
clubs should take place that evening, but that a public meeting should be 
summoned for Sunday at 3 o'clock to protest against the practice of jury- 
packing. Mr. O'Brien opposed a meeting in the existing state of the city, 
but it was ordered to be held." 

"May 20. — Letter from Mr. O'Brien read, advising that no public meet- 
ing should take place until after Mr. Mitchel's trial. At a public meeting lan- 
guage, he feared, would be used which would injure tbe Confederation with- 
out saving Mr. Mitchel. If an attempt to excite an outbreak should be 
made by rash and reckless men, or by emissaries of the Government, the 
Council would be deemed to have encouraged it if they invited the assem- 
blage of a large multitude in the metropolis. As he was not prepared to 
take the responsibility of such a proceeding, and had remonstrated against 
the meeting in vain, he would leave town for a few days." 

The dates of the foregoing entries in the Minute Book are important; 
Mr. Dillon's resolution — copies of which were ordered to be sent to all the 
Dublin clubs — was passed on May 18 — three days before the date of the 
proposed open-air meeting: but the first intimation the Swift Club, (and, I 
presume, all the others.) had of its purport, was on the night of May 23, 
— two days after the meeting. 

It was on the latter night that Mr. Meagher, (who, with Mr. O'Gorman, 
had been deputed by the Council to notify the clubs of the hopelessness of 
an insurrection at that juncture,) — undertook to impress this distasteful con- 
viction on the men who, two days previously, had so defiantly braved the 
consequences that O'Brien — whose personal courage and purity of motives 
none could question — recoiled from witnessing. 

He fulfilled his disagreeable mission effectually — even if he failed to 
convince his astonished and sorely disappointed audience of the wisdom of 
the Council's policy. 

In after years, Meagher expressed regret for his action on that occasion. 

And well he might see cause to regret it, for never, in all his eventful 



196 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

career, did he feel called upon for such an exhibition of lofty moral cour- 
age and devoted self-sacrifice at the call of duty, as when he undertook to 
dash down the hopes and chill the hearts of those trusting enthusiasts — 
whose life-blood would be freely shed in following him to the rescue of 
John Mitchel. 

What was facing " Marye's Heights" to thisf 

Did the club-men blame him for the course he adopted? No! for they 
felt convinced in their souls, that the more " prudent " members of the 
Council — knowing full well his influence with the people, and that he, 
singly, could lead the masses into insurrection in spite of their united oppo- 
sition — had thrown the responsibility for the result of an outbreak on him 
— when he, by yielding to their appeal, could prevent a probable national 
calamity. 

These club-men would not, against their own convictions, imperil the 
success of the national cause because of their personal admiration for John 
Mitchel. But they looked upon his liberty as being so closely connected 
with that of Ireland that the achievement of the one object would insure 
that of the other — and to attain both they deemed the boldest policy the 
wisest — under existing circumstances. These enthusiasts did not base their 
success on tangible material forces alone; they had faith in the God-given 
impulses which inspired their souls to dare achievements above the com- 
prehension of men of more reflective minds — and colder blood. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

CONSTITUTIONAL CONSPIEATOES. 

They Emote us with the sorcerer's oath, and with the murderer's knife.— Duett. 

Though, for some yet unexplained reason, the Dublin clubs were, for 
lays after its adoption, kept in ignorance of the Council's " resolution'" to 
Keep the peace in the event of John Mitchel being convicted by a packed 
fury, the Castle authorities were not. 

Through one of their paid spies — a member of the Council, — whose 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONSPIBATOBS. 197 

Identity was not revealed till long after,* they were regularly informed ol 
all that transpired at its meetings. Therefore, Lord Clarendon well knew 
that neither his armed butchers, or subsidized perjurers had more to fear 
from the notoriously disaffected party who constituted the imposing display 
of physical force on the Sunday preceding Mitchel's trial, than if it was a 
pack of muzzled wolf-hounds straining at the leash. While as to the re- 
sounding warnings emanating from the k< indignant citizens, '' who met in the 
Royal Exchange under the presidency of their Lord Mayor, — he regarded 
them with as much complaisant indifference as he would the bleatings of a 
flock of sheep led by its antiquated bell-wether. 

It was true that, according to the "Treason-Felony Act" — lately pass- 
ed to enable him to maintain his jeopardized position in Ireland, there could 
be no possible doubt entertained of Mitchel's having violated the "law" — 
both before and after the passage of the said statute. There was every 
probability even, that, so far from attempting to deny his guilt when on 
trial, the contumacious offender would glory in the act, and, in open coutt, 
defy and scoff at him, Lord Clarendon, Her Majesty's Viceregent, and dare 
him to do his worst. But then, neither the " law " nor the " facts " could 
be relied upon for a conviction in view of the well-founded belief that the 
disloyalty of the accused was shared in by an overwhelming majority of his 
fellow-countrymen, who had good reason to consider "British law" and 
"British tyranny" synonymous terms, when dealing with political offenders. 
Therefore, if he would wreak his vengeance on this arch-conspirator, 
against foreign rule, and strike a wholesome terror into the hearts of his 
associates, it was absolutely necessary that none but a well authenticated 
enemy of John Mitchel's principles should be found upon the jury empan- 
elled to try him. 

The Sheriff, an officer appointed by the Government, and who had the 
selection of the panel from which the jury was to be taken, was duly no- 
tified of what was expected from him. 

* This scoundrel was, with good reason, believed to be no other than " Balfe," one 
of Clarendon's vilest tools, who, un.ler the title of " Peter O'Carroll," contributed ultra- 
revolutionary articles to some of the popular journals, and, at the same time, supplied 
the Castle organs with some of their most scurrilous anonymous libe's on the national 
leaders. When his work in Ireland was done, he had his reward comment urate with his 
valuable services to Her Majesty's Government. He was sect to Van Dieman'a Land, 
where he received a large tract of land, together with the well-paid positions of Deputy- 
Assistant Comptroller of Convicts, and Justice of the Peace. He also was editor and pro- 
prietor of the government "organ," the " Hobart-town Advertizer," and as such, continued, 
In the colony, the caner he had commenced in Ij eland. He has joined his "mastsr" long 
aince. 



19S MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHEB. 

1st. It was essentially necessary that No Roman Catholic should serve 
on the jury. 

Now, it was notorious that many of the bitterest political enemies of 
John Mitchel, and the most subservient toadies to English supremacy in Dub- 
lin at the time, were Roman Catholics. Some of these slaves — members of 
the City Council — subsequently vaunted their infamy by passing, in their 
official capacity, a vote of thanks to this same Lord Clarendon for his ser- 
vices in maintaining British rule in Ireland, and his wise and merciful man- 
ner in dealing with the disturbers of law and order in the past crisis. But 
the wily old suborner would take no chances in this case, and so his or- 
ders to exclude all the members of the suspected creed were peremptory. 

The accommodating Sheriff wa? equal to the call on his resources for 
trickery, as will be seen from the annexed account of his business methods. 

1st. The list of qualified jurors in Dublin at that time contained in all, 
four thousand five hundred and seventy names; of which number two thou- 
sand nine hundred and thirty-five were Catholics, and one thousand six 
hundred and thirty-five were Protestants of various denominations. 

2nd. Out of this list the Sheriff selected one hundred and fifty persons 
to serve as jurors at the Commission, and amongst those one hundred and 
fifty there were only twenty-eight Catholics. 

(Thus, on the juror's book, there were nearly two Catholics to ONE 
Protestant. On the panel selected from that book there was not one Cath- 
olic for every four Protestants.) 

3rd. Again, amongst the first eighty there were only eight Catholics — 
the other twenty being distributed among the last seventy names. 

4th. As if to "make assurance doubly sure" among the first twenty- 
eight names there appeared but one Catholic. 

It is hardly necessary to say that when the Crown-Solicitor made his 
objections to all but those on whose services he could rely, there was not 
a single Catholic or Protestant of doubtful "loyalty" left on John Mitchel'a 
jury. 

As the names of these chosen " babes of grace " deserve all the publi- 
city that can be accorded them in connection with this history, they are 
appended here. 

John Whitty, Halwood Clarke, 

William Fletcher, Richard Yoakely, 

Robert Thomas, Edward Rothwell, 

William Horatio Nelson, Jason Sherwood, 

Frederic Rambaut, Thomas Bridgeford, 

William Mansfield, John Collier. 



THE '•FELON.'" 199 



Not an individual of Celtic extraction among them. So much to the 
credit of the "old stock." "The list of their names,"— as Mr. Duffy point- 
ed out — "reads like the muster-roll of one of Cromwell's regiments." Well 
worthy were they of their murderous prototypes. They did their allotted 
work as effectively — and as remorselessly. May their respective rewards be 
commensurate to all eternity. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



THE "FELON." 

" He pointed out the path to each 

O'er tyrant's necks and thrones to reach 

To Nationhood — then, In the breach 

He took the foremost stand; 
But ye, for whom he'd gladly bleed, 
Abandoned him in all his need, 
And struck no blow that would have free'd 

Him — and your native land." 

Memories of the Day. — A Contrast. 

The 27th op May constitutes a memorable date in Irish revolutionary 
annals. In 1798, it heralded the opening of the campaign which, in little 
more than a week, cleared "Wexford of King George's butchers from Mount 
Leinster to Cahore, and from Croghan-Kinsella to Sliabhcoilte. 

On that blessed Whitsunday morning the Spirit of Liberty descended on 
Oulart Hill, and fired the hearts of her humble votaries assembled thereon 
under the command of their courageous priest — Father John Murphy — of 
immortal memory. Only the day before these men, priest and flock, were, 
to all appearance, little better than crouching slaves passively submitting to 
all the outrages which their barbarous persecutors choose to inflict, unvil, 
driven to desperation by the culminating atrocity — the burning of the chapel 
of Boolavogue — they were suddenly transformed into God-inspired freemen, 
determined to avenge their violated homes and desecrated altars, and on lift- 
ing up their trampled country to the position she was accorded by the 
Creator. 

Imbued with this unanimity of spirit, they were no longer a mere 



200 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

mob. Though they were but rudely armed, and had no leaders versed in 
even the rudiments of military sciei.ce, yet if, as in the work immediately 
before them, "discipline" consisted in having every man cognizant of his 
leader's purpose, and of feeling both able and determined to execute his 
commands to the letter; if it meant that each individual in that "Rebel" 
muster was animated by the common resolve to find the most direct road 
for his weapon to his enemy's heart — then those men on Oulart Hill were 
not altogether " undisciplined " — as their vaunting enemies found to their 
cost on that 27th of May, 179S. 

•'We are heirs of their rivers, their sea, and their land,— 

Our sky and our mountains as grand. 
We are heirs — Oh! we're not — of their heart and their hand; 

AS TROAGH GAN OIDHIB 'N-A BH FARRADH I "* 

Bitter was the reflection that found utterance in the foregoing heart- 
scalding exclamation — and bitter the occasion that evoked it. 

Half a century had flown by since that memorable Whitsunday on Oulart 
Hill. Half a century of sorrow and suffering for Ireland; of periodic fam- 
ines, and fevers; of wholesale evictions, and comprehensive coercion acts; 
of police massacres and judicial murders; of poor-house bastiles, and floating 
charnal-houses ; of begging petitions, and parliamemary agitations; and, (save 
the tragical episode of 1S03.) of what men with red blood in their veins 
might well designate — "national catalepsy." 

The scene, too, is changed. From that pike-bristling eminence overlook- 
ing the flowery valley of the Slaney, I would recall the student of Irish 
history on this 27th of May, 1848, to the heart of the Irish metropolis. 
Before us frowns a sombre pile, dingy and repulsive, with grated windows, 
and loop-holed walls. This is Newgate — Dublin's "Bastile."' 

On every side its approaches are jealously guarded by triple lines of 
armed men — police, infantry, carbineers and lancers — all with vengeful ex- 
ultation in their looks, and murder in their hearts. Outside this cordon, 
dense masses of the populace throng the streets and the adjacent quays — 
like their countrymen on that fated hill with lowering brows and compressed 
lips, — but alas! without the armed hands, the determined looks, or the united 
resolve which characterized those countrymen when confronting their foes — 
fifty years before. 

And yet those downcast citizens of Dublin were neither cowardly nor 



•"•Tis pity there's no heir to their company!' 



THE "FELON." 201 



altogether unprepared to assert their claim to manhood; though, three months 
previously, they were considered to be the least fitted for fighting of any 
civic population in Europe — outside Great Britain. Nor was this to be won- 
dered at — though they came from a fighting old race; for, from their 
childhood, most of them had been as accustomed to look with awe upon 
that incarnation of " law and order" — the city policeman — as the veriest 
Cockney that drew breath in the atmosphere of flunkeyism and fog. Most 
of them had heard or read of "Lord Edward's" gallant life-and-death- 
struggle with the Castle assassins in Thomas street; some of them could 
even show the enquiring stranger the house in which it t<ok place. They 
could also point out the locality of Robert Emmet's arsenal, and guide the 
reverential worshipper at Liberty's shrine to the spot near Catherine's Church, 
where the dogs lapped the young patriot-martyr's blood. 

But as for drawing trigger or lifting pike themselves, — except, perhaps, 
in the misty future, — these worthy citizens had no more notion, three 
months previously, than the poor peasants had of sweeping Wexford three 
months before that day on Oulart Hill. And yet, at the very moment when 
they stood around that jail — irresolute, gloomy and hopeless — these men 
had more weapons within reach, and more strong and willing arms to wield 
them, than either Lord Edward or Emmet could command within the bounds 
of Dublin. And this change in public sentiment had been wrought, and 
these arms procured, chiefly through the teaching and example of one ear- 
nest, resolute man ; he, who at this present moment, stood inside those grim 
walls — the manacled victim of England's ruffian laws. 

One week ago these scowling men, who now ground their teeth in idle 
impotency, would have enthusiastically dashed, pike in hand, through those 
armed lines to his rescue. What has wrought the change that has suddenly 
paralized them? But there is no need to repeat here the story — suffice it 
to say — it was net fear of the enemy. Further on, the people shall be 
vindicated by the one — who above all others, was best qualified by personal 
acquaintance with the facts to do them justice. 

Let us now take a glance at the last act of the drama then being rep- 
resented inside Newgate's walls. It cannot be too often brought before the 
gaze of Irishmen, or men with a particle of Irish blood in their veins, or 
Irish feeling in their hearts. 

The verdict had been given as directed — on the previous evening; it only 
remained to ^o through the formality of passing sentence. 

"Amid a dead silence in the crowded court a voice from the bench 
vociferated — ' Jailor put forward John MiTCHEL.' " 

"A grating of bolts — a rustling of chains — were heard. The door at 



2.2 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

the back of the dock opened, and, between two turnkeys, Mitchel entered. 

" Ascending to the front of the dock, he looked calmly around, saluted 
some of his friends, and then directed his eyes to the court. 

"After some preliminary forms, the clerk of the crown asked 'if Mr. 
Mitchel had anything to say why judgment should not be passed upon 
him?"' 

John Mitchel's Speech in the Dock. 

" I have," he answered, and after a momentary look at judges, jury- 
box and sheriff, he slowly continued: — 

"I HAVE TO SAY THAT I HAVE BEEN TRIED BY A PACKED JURY — BY 
THE JURY OF A PARTIZAN SHERIFF — BY A JURY NOT EMPANELLED ACCORD- 
ING TO THE LAW OF ENGLAND. I HAVE BEEN FOUND GUILTY BY A PACK- 
ED JURY, OBTAINED BY A JUGGLE — A JURY NOT EMPANELLED BY A SHERIFF, 
BUT BY A JUGGLER. THAT IS THE REASON WHY I OBJECT TO THE SEN- 
TENCE BEING PASSED UPON ME." 

(The sentence was passed, however. Baron Lefroy, after a lengthy 
lecture on the enormity of the prisoner's crime, winding up his canting 
homily by stating that — " taking into consideration that this is the first 
conviction under the act — though the offence has been as clearly proved 
as any offence of the kind could be — the sentence of the Court is — that 
you be transported beyond the seas for the term of Fourteen Years.") 

When the murmurs of indignation, which the severity of the sentence 
called lorth, had been suppressed by the sheriff— 

Mr. Mitchel. in a clear, firm, and manly voice, then spoke as follows, 
amidst a solemn hush of breathless expectation : — 

•' The law has now done its part, and the Queen of England, her Crown 
and Government in Ireland, are now secure, pursuant to Act of Parliament. 
I have done my part also. Three months ago I promised Lord Clarendon, 
and his government in this country, that I would provoke him into his 
Courts of Justice — as places of this kind are called — and that I would 
force him publicly and notoriously to pack a jury against me to convict 
me, or else that I would walk out a free man from this dock, to meet 
him in another field. My Lord. 1 knew I was setting my life on that cast; 
but I warned him that in either event the victory would be with me, and 



THE "FELON" 



the victory is with me. Neither the jury, nor the judges, nor any other 
man in this court, presumes to imagine that it is a criminal who stands in 
this dock. I have kept my word. I have shown what the law is made of 
in Ireland. I have shown that Her Majesty's government sustains itself in 
Ireland by packed juries, by partizan judges, by perjured sheriffs " 

(Here he was interrupted by Judge Lefroy, and again continued ) — 

"I have acted all through this business from the first, under a strong 
sense of duty. I do not repent anything I have done; and I believe that 
the course which I have opened is only commenced. The Roman who saw 
his hand burning to ashes before the tyrant promised that three hundred 
should follow out his enterprise. Can I not promise for one, for two, for 
three, aye for hundreds?" 

Here he pointed to his friends Reilly, Meagher and Martin 

A burst of wild enthusiasm followed, several of those in the immediate 
vicinity of the dock crying, with arms outstretched — " Yes, Mitchel, for 
thousands," and " Promise for me." 

The words were repeated in rapid succession; they rang from the mem- 
bers of the bar, from the body of the court, and from the occupants of the 
galleries, until it seemed as if the whole auditory, inspired by the heroism 
of the man, vied to see who would be the first to give him a pledge that 
his sacrifice would not be in vain. 

Baron Lefroy, frightened at this manifestation of popular feeling, excit- 
edly screamed out — 

" Officer ! officer ! remove Mr. Mitchel." 

"Two turnkeys thereupon laid hold of the prisoner, and proceeded to 
force him through the door-way in the rear. Then the excitement became 
indescribable. Mitchel's friends and members of counsel rushed over tables 
and benches to bid farewell to the gallant-hearted man who alone stood 
unmoved and undaunted, the chief actor in a scene which generations yet 
unborn will carry the recollection of in their heart of hearts. The sheriff 
seemed petrified. The judges, gathering their petticoats about them, fled, in 
panic and terror, from the bench. The Police Inspectors shouted " Seize that 
man ! seize that man ! " and Meagher and Doheny were pounced upon, with 
some other of the more demonstrative sympathizers of the k ' Felon," who 
meanwhile disappeared on the way to his underground cell; the bolts grated, 
the door slammed, and the scene closed." 



204 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

The judges returned to the bench pale and agitated, with convulsed faces 
and shrunken hearts, and, after the excitement had calmed down, the par- 
ties arrested were released. 

On that evening, at four o'clock, the convict-van drew up at the front 
entrance to Newgate, and was immediately surrounded by two squadrons of 
dragoons and a body of mounted police, who, with drawn sabres, formed 
four deep around the vehicle. In a few minutes the prison gates were 
opened and Mr. Mitchel, with a firm step and unnerved demeanor, came 
forth, escorted by some prison officials. His hand and right leg were hea- 
vily manacled and fastened to each other by a ponderous iron chain. He 
cast a quiet glance around, at the guard with their drawn swords and ma- 
levolent looks, and at the crowd of anguished, grief-stricken faces, motion- 
less and bloodless as statues, in the rear. He was then assisted into the 
van, the door was banged to, and the cavalcade set forward at a gallop, dash- 
ing through the crowd of frenzied, powerless, spectators — and one ruffian 
shouting, exultingly, in my hearing, as he waved his sabre over his head — 
"We have him at last, by G— d!" 

"May the devil have you!" was the spontaneous response from a hun- 
dred vengeful hearts. 

The Sheerwater steamer was lying in readiness off the North-wall, and 
thither the van and its escort proceeded at a rapid pace through the inter- 
vening streets, followed by the mingled lamentations and maledictions of the 
populace. Some hundreds of those who crowded around Newgate to catch 
one more glimpse of their devoted patriot, set off by shorter routes towards 
the embarking point, — clinging to the forlorn hope that, perhaps, at the 
last moment, some fortuitous turn of affairs might afford an opportunity 
for a rescue. But though they gained their position before the police closed 
the bridges across the customhouse-docks, it was only to have the mournful 
sati faction of seeing John Mitchel step from the land of his birth and love 
on board the boat that conveyed him to the dark-hulled vessel from which 
a column of smoke was ascending dense aud black — as the cloud that then 
overshadowed the hopes which his glowing spirit had enkindled. 

The immediate fruits of the victory on Oulart Hill were subsequeiitly 
lost, in reverses against which the heroic courage of unskilled and poorly- 
armed peasants could not cope. But the fame of those devoted martyrs of 
liberty — like the cause for which they died — is immortal. That cause sank 
in their blood, for the time; but, as, two generations later, the flag that 
typified it, was, once more, uplifted by John Mitchel — an incentive to friends 
and defiance to foes; so the doctrines he inculcated, and the example he 



EFFECT OF WTC&ErS TBANSFOSTATI0& 205 

set in the " Felon's Dock," shall never be forgotten "while <m this tmaaal earth 
there breathes one true scion of the IriBh race. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF MITCHEL'S TRANSPORTATION — MEAGHER'S 
VINDICATION OF THE CLURS. 

We have bent and borne, though we saw him tor 
From his home by the tyrant'a crew. — Davis. 

Though the majority of the Dublin Confederates were sorely disap- 
pointed at the action of the Council in restraining them from attempting a 
rescue; and, though they felt mortified at the false position in which their 
inaction at that crisis placed them before their fellow-countrymen through- 
out the island, yet they were not the less determined to persevere to the 
end in the course which their banished leader had pointed out as the only 
true way to the goal of their ambition — National Independence. In accord- 
ance with this resolution they proceeded with redoubled energy to extend 
their club organizatiOES, and with such success, that, within the next six 
weeks, their numerical strength within the city limits was more than doubled, 
and their progress in arming the enrolled members was equally encour- 
aging. 

Throughout the Provinces, and more especially in Munster, the deporta- 
tion of John Mitchel had a more marked effect than even in the Metropolis. 
It made the name of the patriot-martyr a synonym of Liberty in thousands 
of homesteads where he was scarcely heard of before his trial. It did more 
to heartily unite the hitherto partially-reconciled elements of the old Repeal 
organization than all the efforts of their most popular orators had been able 
to accomplish. It silenced (for a time) the out-spoken opposition, or whis- 
pered suspicions of some sneaking " wolves in sheep's clothing," who habit- 
ually had denounced O'Rrien, Mitchel, and their friends as " paid spies sent 
out by the Castle to entrap the unwary ; " and, most encouraging sign of 
all, it roused the fighting element to the urgent necessity for organizing 
and arming — which resulted in a wide-spread ramification of clubs from 
various revolutionary centres, and in the manufacture of pikes by day and 



206 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

night, — in sentinel-guarded forges throughout the sphere of these club-men's 
influence. 

In the meantime, a most onerous duty devolved on the Council of the 
Confederation. The most conspicuous members thereof felt themselves placed 
in a critical position. By their past ofFence3 against the government they 
were amenable to Mitchel's fate at any moment it suited the Castle author- 
ities to select fresh victims. It behooved them, therefore, to be cautious, 
and not, unnecessarily, provoke the enemy to force them to a conflict for 
which they felt unprepared. They accordingly, came to the resolution that 
there should be no more public street-parades of the clubs unless specially 
ordered by the Council. They likewise thought it advisable to reorganize 
the Council itself. It was too unwieldy for practical work — involving neces- 
sary secrecy, and they wished to reduce it to a convenient number of men 
— Doth determined and trustworthy. 

This plan would also enable them to get rid of some parties who were 
suspected of being government spies. (They were convinced there was, at 
least, one such amongst them, but could not positively identify the traitor). 

The new Council was to be limited to twenty-one, and was to be voted 
for by the existing body, and not, as on former occasions, by the Confed- 
eration at large. The voting was by ballot, and the following were elected. 
The number of votes each received are appended to their names, and afford 
a fair criterion of their relative popularity with the Confederation at large, 
as well as with their associates on the old Council: 



VOTES 




VOTES 




VOTES. 


Thos. Francis Meagher. 


, 31 


P. J. Smith, 


28 


M. J. Barry, 


18 


Father John Kenyon, 


31 


John Martin, 


25 


R. D. Williams, 


18 


Wm. S. O'Brien, 


30 


Michael Doheny, 


25 


John Byrne, 


15 


Charles Gavan Duffy, 


30 


Dr. Kane, 


23 


B. Dowling, 


14 


John Dillon, 


30 


James Cantwell, 


21 


Michael Crean, 


14 


Richard O'Gorman, 


30 


Denny Lane, 


19 


John Rainor, 


12 


Frank Morgan, 


29 











(John Barry and Daniel Griffin, who were elected without their consent, 
never acted on the Council). 

One of the first measures taken by the newly elected Council was the 
calling of a public meeting for the purpose of justifying the course adopt- 
ed in reference to John Mitchel. The meeting was held in the Music Hall, 
early in June, and was attended by such of the clubmen as could find 
room in the building, — though, in accordance with the orders of the Coun- 
cil, they did not march in procession as heretofore. 



VINDICATION OF THE CLUBS. 207 

As Meagher was the chief instrument of the Council in restraining the 
clubs from attempting Mitchel's rescue, so on him it principally devolved 
to justify the necessity of the policy then pursued. His speech on the occa- 
sion was one of the most touchingly eloquent he ever delivered. Never did 
he so move the sensibilities of his hearers; but. whether he was as success- 
ful in convincing their reason, as to the wisdom of the course he defended, 
I am not prepared to assert with confidence. Judging from my own impres- 
sions, at the time, he did not, — though not one present more thoroughly 
sympathized with him, in his grief for the sacrifice of his beloved compa- 
triot, or more admired his generous self-sacrifice in assuming the chief res- 
ponsibility for the course — which, I verily believed, he was impelled to by 
others — against his own feelings and convictions. 

In a few incisive sentences he addressed himself directly to the subject 
which permeated every heart in the assembly, — and gave expression to the 
feelings that swayed them all. 

"We are no longer masters of our lives. They belong to our country, 
— to liberty, — to vengeance. Upon the walls of Newgate a fettered hand 
has inscribed this destiny. 

"We shall be the martyrs or the rulers of a revolution. 

•'Once again they shall have to pack their jury-box; once again exhibit 
to the world the frauds and mockeries, the tricks and perjuries, upon which 
their power is based." 

Referring to the feelings of disappointment, humiliation and depression 
consequent on the unexpected decision of the Council in the emergency 
forced upon them, he proceeded to explain the motives which led to their 
decision, and to accept his full share of the responsibility: — 

"In those feelings of depression and shame I deeply share; and from 
the mistrust with which some of you, at least, may regard the members of 
the late Council, I shall not hold myself exempt. If they are to blame, so 
am I. Between the hearts of the people and the bayonets of the govern- 
ment, I took my stand, with the members of the Council, and warned back 
the precipitate devotion which scoffed at prudence as a crime. I am here 
to answer for that act. If you believe it to have been the act of a das- 
tard, treat me with no delicacy, — treat me with no respect. Vindicate your 
courage in the impeachment of the coward. The necessities and perils of 
the cause forbid the interchange of courtesies. Civilities are out of place 
in the whirl and tumult of the tempest. 

"The address of the Council to the people of Ireland — the address signed 
by William Smith O'Brien — bears witness to your determination. It states 
that thousands of Confederates had pledged themselves that John Mitchel 



208 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

should not leave these shores but through their blood. We were bound to 
make this statement — bound in justice to you — bound in honor to the coun- 
try. Whatever odium may flow from that scene of victorious defiance, in 
which the government played its part without a stamrnef or a check, none 
falls on you. You would have fought, had we not seized your hands, and 
bound them. 

" Let no foul tongue, then, spit its sarcasm upon the people. They were 
ready for the sacrifice ; and had the word been given, the stars would burn 
this night above a thousand crimsoned graves. The guilt is ours ; — let the 
sarcasms fall upon our heads. 

"We told you in the Clubs, four days previous to the trial, the reasons 
that compelled us to oppose the project of a rescue. The concentration of 
ten thousand troops upon the city — the incomplete organization of the peo- 
ple — the insufficiency of food, in case of a sustained resistance — the uncer- 
tainty as to how far the country districts were prepared to support us — 
these were the chief reasons that forced us into an antagonism with your 
generosity, your devotion, your intrepidity. Night after night we visited 
the Clubs, to know your sentiments, your determination ; — and to the course 
we instructed you to adopt, you gave, at length, a reluctant sanction. 

"Now, I do not think it would be candid in me to conceal the fact, 
that the day subsequent to the arrest of John Mitchel, I gave expression 
to sentiments having a tendency quite opposite to the advice I have men- 
tioned. 

"At a meeting of the 'Grattan Club' I said that the Confederation 
ought to come to the resolution to resist by force the transportation of John 
Mitchel; and if the worst befel us, the ship that carried him away should 
sail upon a sea of blood. I said this, and I shall not now conceal it. I 
said this, and I shall not shrink from the reproach of having acted otherwise. 
Upon consideration, I became convinced they were sentiments which, if acted 
upon, would associate my name with the ruin of the cause. I felt it my 
duty, therefore to retract them; — not to disown, but to condemn them; 
not to shrink from the responsibility which the avowal of them might 
entail, but to avert the disaster which the enforcement of them would 
ensure. 

"You have now heard all I have to say on that point; and with a 
conscience happy in the thought that it has concealed nothing, I shall ex- 
ultingly look forward to an event — the shadow of which already encom- 
passes us — for the vindication of my conduct, and the attestation of my 
truth. 

"Call me k Coward /' — call me '•Renegade!' 1 I will accept these titles as 



VINDICATION OF THE CLUBS. 209 

the penalties which a fidelity to my convictions has imposed. It will be so 
for a short time only. To the end I see the path I have been ordained to 
walk: and upon the grave which closes that path, I can read no coward's 
epitaph." 

It is unnecessary to observe that not one of the sympathetic hearts he 
addressed ever harbored a thought derogatory to Meagher's courage or loy- 
alty; his confidence in himself was not greater than was their devotion to, 
and trust in him. 

In another portion of this noble speech, he paid the following affecting 
tribute to the man whose name was then a household-word throughout the 
land — for whose liberty he sacrificed his own : — 

Meagher on Mitchel. 

" There is a black ship upon the southern seas this night. Far from 
his own, old land — far from the sea, and soil, and sky, which, standing 
here, he used to claim for you with all the pride of a true Irish prince — 
far from that circle of fresh young hearts, in whose light and joyousness, 
and warmth, his own drank in each evening new life and vigor — far from 
that young wife, in those heart the kind hand of heaven has kindled a 
gentle heroism, sustained by which she looks with serenity and pride upon 
her widowed home, and in the children that girdle her with beauty, beholds 
the inheritors of a name which, to their last breath, will secure for them 
the love, the honor, the blessing of their country — far from these scenes 
and joys — clothed and fettered as a felon — he is borne to an island where 
the rich, and brilliant, and rapacious power, of which he was the foe, has 
doomed him to a dark existence. 

"That sentence shall be reversed — reversed by the decree of a free 
nation, arrayed in arms and in glory. Till then, in the love of the coun- 
try, let the wife and children of the illustrious exile be shielded from 
adversity. True, when he stood before the judge, and with the voice and 
bearing of a Roman, told him that three hundred were prepared to follow 
him — true it is that at that moment he spoke not of his home and chil- 
dron — he thought only of his country — and to the honor of her sons 
bequeathed the cause for which he was doomed to suffer. 

"But in that one thought all other thoughts were embraced. Circled 
by the arms and banners of a free people, he saw his home secure — bis 
wife joyous — his children prosperous. This was the thought which forbade 
his heart to blench when he left these shores — this the thought which calls 
up this night, as he sleeps within that prison ship, dreams full of light 



210 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

and rapturous joy — this the thought which will lighten the drudgery, and 
reconcile his proud heart to the odious conditions of his exile. 

" Think ! oh, think of that exile — the hopes, the longings, which will 
grow each day more anxious and impatient. Think! oh, think! of how, 
with throbbing heart and kindling eye, he will look out across the waters 
that imprison him, searching in the eastern sky for the flag wiiich will an- 
nounce to him his liberty, and the triumph of sedition.* 

" Think! oh, think! of that day when thousands and tens of thousands 
will rush to the water's edge, as a distant gun proclaims his return — mark 
the ship as it dashes through the waves and nears the shore — behold him 
standing there upon the deck — the same calm, intrepid, noble heart — his 
clear, quick eye runs along the shore, and fills with the light which flashes 
from the bayonets of the people — a moment's pause! and then, amid the 
roar of cannon, the fluttering of a thousand flags, the pealing of cathedral 
bells, the cheers of millions, the triumphant felon sets his foot once more 
upon his native soil— hailed, and blessed, and welcomed as the first citizen 
of our free and sovereign state." 



•In every particular — 6a ve that most Important one of locality, this prophetic des- 
cription affords a vivid picture of the actual occurrences attendant on Mltchel's arrival 
In America, on November 29th, 1853. As Meagher stood by his side as the vessel steamed 
up New York Harbor, and heard the cannon thunder their salvos of "Welcome!" from 
Brooklyn Heights; his memory must have exultlngly recalled that night of gloom and 
bitter humiliation — when bis hopeful anticipation of the "Felon's" glorious future des- 
tiny almost succeeded In lifting the cloud from the hearts of his sorrowing and exaspe- 
rated countrymen in the Music Hall, Dublin. 

I, who participated In both scenes, could not disassociate them In my reflections; as 
I felt the joy of our day of triumph enhanced by contrast with that night of darkest 
mitery and despondency when I last saw Mitchel in our native land. 



EABNEST WOBK. 211 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



MEETING THE EXIGENCY. — EARNEST WORK.— JUNE, 1848. 

Gather all men to our band, 
To take our own again. — Davis. 

Even before the reorganization of the Council had been effected, a few 
of the leading Confederates had come to the conclusion that, if they hoped 
to cope successfully with the government conspirators, it was high time for 
them to avail themselves of every element of success within their reach, 
and to supplement their policy of " open and advised speaking " — by secret 
action. In a word, they, as practical revolutionists, commenced a "formal 
conspiracy." 

As the first authoritative public announcement of this important step in 
the history of the '48 movement was given by one of its initiators, Mr. 
Duffy, in his " Four Years of Irish History," I shall here confine myself 
solely to his account of the transaction : — 

" An immediate conference of the leaders of the two sections of the 
Confederates was agreed upon, and then for the first time commenced a 
formal conspiracy. In a country where the will of the nation is accom- 
plished as soon as it is ascertained, conspiracy and insurrection are base 
and wicked. But were they base or wicked in a country where the will of 
the people, having been ascertained beyond all controversy, on a subject of 
the highest importance to their honor and interest, is counted for nothing? 

"At the conference Kenyon, Martin, and Reilly represented one section 
— Dillon, Duffy, and a gentleman still living the other. Then and there, 
for the first time, measures were taken to obtain money, arms, and officers 
from abroad, to make a diversion in England, and to procure the coopera- 
tion of the Irish residents there, and to prepare particular local men to 
expect the event.* 

"It was deemed inadvisable to extend the area of responsibility, and it 
was agreed to communicate to certain of our chief associates the fact that 
precautions were taken, without naming the agents or specifying the details. 



Four years of Irish History." Page 



212 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

O'Brien was at Cahermoyle, and we refrained from asking him to share 
these hazardous enterprises. Danger we knew he disregarded, as far as it 
involved personal consequences; but he was nervously anxious about the 
safety of his class, and we foresaw that if he consented to decisive mea- 
sures, he would prepare them by deliberation so long, and consultations so 
frequent, that they would be quite fatal to promptness of action. It was a 
secret relief to men who loved him, and made full allowance for the pecu- 
liar difficulty of his position, that they could take this risk wholly on them- 
selves. Enough was said, when he returned to Dublin, to keep good faith; 
not enough to create responsibility. One Confederate, who was a close friend 
of Dillon's, and another intimately allied in opinion and affection with Mar- 
tin and Mitchel, were sent as agents to America.* 

" Some weeks later a Confederate, of Mixed French and Irish descent, 
was dispatched to Paris on the same errand. 

"Neither of the agents sent to the United States was accustomed to ad- 
dress public meetings, and it was agreed that either Father Kenyon or Meagher 
should make a tour in the States, and publicly solicit funds from Irish and 
American sympathisers. Father Kenyon had, at this time, a contention with 
his bishop respecting some of his published opinions : if it could be settled 
satisfactorily he would be more useful at home; if it could not, he prom- 
ised to undertake this mission. f Meagher was ready for the duty, on con- 
dition that he should be at liberty to return to Ireland before the harvest 
was ripe." 

Overtures for Re-union. — The National League. 

While the&e preparations for active revolutionary work were being made 
by the leading Confederates, John O'Connell — either impelled by the logio 
of events which tended to unite all earnest Repealers in a supreme effort 
for the recovery of their national right of self-government — or determined 
to thwart by duplicity a movement which he felt powerless to prevent by 
open opposition — made overtures for reconciliation to Smith O'Brien in a 
letter written three days after Mitchel's transportation. The following extract 
from this letter will serve to explain its purport : — 

" I would readily consent that the old foundation — that dating from 



*The latter of the two gentlemen referred to was Mr. William Mitchel, John Mitch el's 
brother. 

t Father Kenyon riD come to a "satisfactory understanding" with his bishop at the 
time, and thenceforth took but little part in the revolutionary movement. 



OVERTURES FOR RE-UNION. 213 

April, 1S40, (more than eight years ago,) should be the only one to be- 
maintained, and that no species of test save an honorable understanding of 
acquiescence in its principles, should exist. I would also consent to any 
form of words you might propose to exclude place-begging, and also to 
any minor changes you might think necessary. All I ask is that direct 
incentives to war be avoided; and this simply for the safety of the Asso- 
ciation." 

During the negotiations which followed betwen the Council of the Con- 
federation and the Committee of the Repeal Association, a letter of Smith' 
O'Brien's, dated '• Cahermoyie, June 1st," was read, which clearly expresses 
the views of his associates in the Confederation at large on the proposed 
union. He said : — 

"I should deeply regret the proposed union if I could persuade myself 
that it would tend to check the bold course of policy which has been 
adopted, after full deliberation, by the Irish Confederation. These appre- 
hensions have, however, been removed on discovering that the progress of 
events has produced a much nearer approximation of feeling and of opinion 
than was believed to exist between the Confederates and the members of the 
Repeal Association. Both parties now admit that we stand upon the 'last 
plank ' of the constitution. No one denies that Ireland is now ruled solely 
by military power. The Union is now undeniably maintained, not by bonds 
of affection and interest, but by a system of force, fraud, and corruption. 
Even our marts of commerce and our seats of learning are occupied by a, 
foreign soldiery. Events, events, not arguments, have cancelled the famous 
'peace resolutions.' Our controversy will soon narrow itself into the single 
question, now often uttered with impatience — ' When shall the Irish nation 
strike?'' Upon this question we ought to invite the deliberation of men who 
are cautious as well as resolute. In the language of one of your youthful 
poets — 

• * * * • Your worst transgression 
Weie to strike, and strike in vain.' 

"The advocates of what is called 'moral force' tell us — and I believe 
them — that, if ever it should become necessary to vindicate the trampled 
rights of their country by an appeal to arms, they will be found amongst 
the foremost in the field. Shall we refuse to enter into confederacy with 
these men, for the purpose of considering how we can best concentrate the 
national energies in support of the national cause?" 

" After a conference of several days, the conditions of reunion were- 
finally settled, and the delegates undertook to obtain the sanction of their 



214 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



respective societies to them. The Committee of the Repeal Association 
and the Council of the Confederation accepted the terms, and ordered that 
public meetings should be called to confirm them."* 

The movement for reunion was received with much satisfaction by the 
country. In the course of a week four bishops and over two hundred priests 
had given their adhesion to the principles of the League, and everything 
looked favorable to its speedy success, when a new obstacle was interposed 
by John O'Connell : — he "required a fortnight for further consideration, and 
to ascertain the opinion of the country." It was granted him by the Con- 
federates — who devoted the time to the organization of new clubs, as clubs 
were to be kept separate from the League, — but, when the time had ex- 
pired, the marplot announced that he "would not join the league but retire 
for a time from public life." So he soon afterwards betook himself to the 
continent — having first shut up Conciliation Hall. 

If John O'Connell's characteristic act of duplicity was intended to effect- 
ually check and demoralize the new movement, it fulfilled his anticipations, 
for, it not only spread doubt and confusion where mutual confidence and 
hearty cooperation were essential elements of success, but it afforded the 
government the desired opportunity of striking while their enemy was en- 
gaged in effecting a "change of front," under critical and disadvantageous 
circumstances. 

The Council of the Confederation performed its part of the agreement. 
They called a public meeting at which the organization was formally dis- 
solved for the purpose of merging into the Irish League; but, before the 
new Association held its ratification meeting, the Castle authorities took sucn 
measures as made its first meeting its last. 

The Protestant Repeal Association. 

Almost contemporaneous with the Irish League, the " Protestant Repeal 
Association" sprang into existence. A3 its name implies, it was composed 
of Protestants of national leanings, loyal to the Crown and Constitution, 
but in favor of Irishmen making laws for Ireland. Samuel Ferguson, the 
poet, was the most distinguished member of this organization. It had a 
numerous following ia Dublin, and a flourishing branch in Belfast, and might 
eventually have grown to be a powerful auxiliary to the national party, in 
eradicating religious animosities from the people's hearts, had it been per- 



Four years of Irish History." Page 616. 



THE NATIONAL PRESS. 215 

mitted time to take root in the newly tilled soil. But, like the League, 
its career was cut short by the " Habeas Corpus Suspension Act." 

The National Press. —The Irish Felon, and Irish Tribune. 

For a fortnight after Mitchel's transportation and the suppression of his 
paper, " The United Irishman,'''' the duty of maintaining the reputation of 
the Irish national press was left solely to the Nation. And right nobly 
and courageously was that duty fulfilled, and the national flag kept flying 
defiantly in the face of the enemy, until the great journal shared the fate 
of its gallant cotemporary and was crushed, (for a time,) by the Castle 
banditti. 

John Martin and Thomas Devin Reilly had determined to issue a suc- 
cessor to the "United Irishman,'''' but, before their arrangements were per- 
fected, the leading members of the Student's Club stepped promptly into the 
breach with a new revolutionary organ called " The Irish Tribune'''' — with 
Richard D' Alton Williams, and Kevin Izod O'Doherty as responsible publish- 
ers. Dr. Antisell, John Savage, John De Courcy Young and Walter T. 
Meyler, were among its shareholders and contributors. Michael Doheny and 
Stephen J. Meany, also wrote for it; and William Carleton, the Irish nov- 
elist, contributed the first chapter of what was intended to be a serial story 
— called " Suil Balor'''' — or "The Evil Eye;" but, his name being placed 
on the Literary Pension List, most opportunely, by the government, he, 
discreetly withdrew from his rebellious associations, and awaited less dis- 
tracting times for the publication of his completed story. 

The first number of the "Irish Tribune" appeared on June 10th, and 
on June 24th "The Irish Felon " — successor to "The United Irishman," was 
issued. John Martin was its responsible publisher. As his most efficient 
associates, political and literary, Thomas Devin Reilly, James Fenton Lalor, 
r.nd Joseph Brenan wrote most of its editorials: while Martin MacDermott. 
J. De Jean Frazer and "Eva" contributed to its poetical departments, Mo6t 
of the original contributions were signed by the writers. Meagher contributed 
OLe article on the " Queen's Visit to Ireland." 

Of those new " propagandists of revolutionary doctrines," it may be said 
that — 

" Brief, brave, and glorious was their young career." 

Five weeks of their incessant assaults was as much as the Government 
could afford to stand, and so, at the end of that period, the audacioua 
publishers were provided with quarters in Newgate — pending their trial foi 
" Ti eason-Felony." 



2^ MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 



CHAPTER XXXX. 



CASTLE TACTICS.— MARKED FOR VEXGEANCE. 

" And thouarh we to the dimgeon go — 

Where patriots dwelt before; 
Yet— .in the cell, or on the sod, 

We're Paddies evermore!" 

— Old song. 

The Revolutionary Committee which succeeded the Council of the Con- 
federation, had determined, if possible, to postpone aggressive action pending 
the ripening of the harvest. But the Government was not disposed to let 
them choose their own time. If a popular rising wa? to, eventually, take 
place, the Castle authorities resolved that the national leaders, at all events, 
should be debarred from participating therein, and accordingly it was deter- 
mined to place the most dangerous among them in safe-keeping without 
further delay. 

The publishers of the national journals were selected as the first victims. 
In the first week of July, when but two numbers of the Irish Felon had 
been issued, a warrant was issued for the arrest of its registered proprietor, 
John Martin. The detectives searched the office of the paper, and the resi- 
dence of Mr. Reilly, but in vain. Hearing he was wanted, Mr. Martin, by 
the advice of his friends, determined to keep out of the Government's clutches 
until the "Special Commission" (then in session in Dublin, and liable to 
make short work of him) had adjourned. I happened to meet him while he 
was on his way to his temporary hiding-place, and after a brief conversation, 
he bade me u good-bye" with the hope that "we would meet again." (It 
was over thirteen years before that hope was realized.) Within a week 
after our parting he surrendered; six weeks later he was brought to trial 
before a "duly selected" jury — and found guilty as a matter of course. 
He was sentenced to ten years' transportation, and so ended his career as a 
revolutionary propagandist. 

A Grateful Tribute to John Martin's Memory. 

After McManus, O'Donoghue, Meagher and Mitchel had, successively, effect- 
ed their escape from Van Dieman's Land, and obtained freemen'3 welcome 



CASTLE TACTICS. 217 



in these United States, and while the indefatigable Patrick J. Smith was 
again on his way to the Antipodes, with the avowed determination of 
rescuing the exiles still in the enemy's clutches, the Government were in- 
duced to exhibit their magnanimity (?) by liberating the men they could not 
much longer hold in bondage ; but, having still the power of prohibiting their 
nturn to Ireland, they exerted it, and in so doing, exposed their hypocrisy 
and spiteful meanness to the contempt of the world. 

For the succeeding two years, Messrs. O'Brien, O'Dougherty and Martin 
sojourned on the European Continent — principally in Paris. 

It was during his residence in the French Capital that an incident — in 
which I was deeply interested — occurred, through which Mr. Martin exhib- 
i:ed a trait of his noble, chivalrous nature, and the particulars of which, in 
justice to his memory, I shall here record. 

Through their officials in Parliament, the British Government had boast- 
ed of their magnanimity in liberating all their political prisoners, and they 
might, for a while, have succeeded in deceiving the civilized world into 
accepting their statement as true, but for John Martin, who, in a letter to 
John Francis Maguire, M. P., flatly contradicted the assertion, and not only 
exposed their mendacious hypocrisy, but forced them to do — what they 
boasted having already done — through shame of the public opinion whose 
favor they surreptitiously sought to gain. 

In this letter Mr. Martin asserted that, to his personal knowledge, there 
still remained toiling in the wilds of Australia and in the hulks of Bermuda, 
ten more men who were transported on a charge of being concerned in an 
armed attack on the police barrack of Cappoquin in the. Autumn of 1849. These 
men being of the working class, and having no influential friends in Ireland, 
the Government presumed that they would be left to pine in then- captivity 
unnoticed and uncared for. But little they knew the nobility of soul which 
actuated the Irish leaders in those days. The glorious rallying-cry of free- 
dom — " Liberty, Equality and Fraternity ! "— was, with them, no mere 
lip-shibboleth. It was the expres-ion of their heart's creed — to be preached 
in deeds as well as words. 

On the occasion of my first conversation with John Mitchel, after his 
arrival in New York, in November, 1853, he told me that one of these 
Cappoquin boys — John "Walsh — then on his " ticket-of- leave "— travelled a 
considerable distance to Bothwell, to see himself and John Martin, and it 
was through him they learned the story of those practical admirers of their 
revolutionary teachings. John Martin did not forget this story of humble 
patriotism, and through his prompt and friendly action the brave fellows 
eventually regained their liberty. 



218 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

While thanking him in the name of my fellow-townsmen, I assured Mr. 
Martin that his action on their behalf would be among the last of his good 
deeds to be forgotten in that village of tenacious memories by the Black- 
water. To increase the circle of his grateful admirers, and to aid in keeping 
hia "memory green," I record it here. 

Arrest of Charles Gavan Duffy. 

On the same evening that John Martin surrendered, Charles Gavan Duffy, 
editor and proprietor of the Nation, was taken into custody. The particulars 
of his arrest are thus recorded by himself: — 

" On Saturday, July 8th, when I returned home for dinner, a party of 
detectives arrested me at my residence, and carried me in a close carriage 
to College Street police office. When I arrived there I learned that the Nation 
office had been seized at the same time, and a search made for compromis- 
ing papers; and that, finding none, the police carried off the account-books 
and office memoranda. I was duly committed for trial, and sent to Newgate 
in custody of a large body of police. By this time an immense crowd had 
collected, and as we could only drive to the prison at a walking pace it 
constantly increased. It was so dense when we reached Capel Street that 
the carriage came to a standstill, and a fierce shout arose, "Take him out! 
Take him out!" A president of a club well known to me got on the steps 
and whispered, "Do you wish to be rescued?" I replied, •' Certainly not!' 
I had the same problem to face in my own case which we had faced re- 
cently in Mitchel's, and I treated it in the same way. The crowd became very 
menacing, and the officer in command of the police appealed to me to quiet 
them. McGee and Dr. Callan, on my behalf, entreated them to desist, and 
warned them that the time for action had not come. After a parley which 
occupied half an hour a passage wa3 at length cleared to the prison, and 
a minute after I found myself within its iron grasp."* 

The charge of Treason-Felony against Mr. Duffy was grounded on cer- 
tain articles which appeared in the Ration of that day (July 8) Among these 
articles was one entitled "Mr. Meagher and the Clubs," and also a letter 
addressed by Mr. Meagher to the Dublin Clubs, to which the article speci- 
fied referred editorially.! 



• " Four Years of Irish History." Page 623-4. 
fin connection with this address to the Clubs, Mr. Meagher, during the progress of 
Mr. Duffy's trial, addressed the following letter to Sir Colman O'Loghlan, one of the de- 
fendant's counsel:— 



MARKED FOB VENGEANCE. 219 

Before Mr. Duffy was brought to trial, the indictment on which he was 
arrested was strengthened by several supplementary charges — based on arti- 
cles published in the Nation between the date of his committal to Newgate 
and the 29th of July, — when the paper was finally suppressed. 

Mr. Duffy's imprisonment lasted ten months. During that period no 
Irish political prisoner was more persistently and vindictively maligned and 
persecuted by the meanest government that ever tyranised over his land and 
race. Five times he was brought to trial, and in every instance the jury — 
carefully selected as it was — failed to convict him. On the last trial they 
stood seven for acquittal and five for a modified verdict; not one would 
find him guilty as indicted. So at length the Government, — baffled and 
beaten — abandoned the contest — and their indomitable enemy walked forth 
a free man. dearer than ever to the land for which he suffered, and to the 
people whom it was his life's duty, by precept and example, to educate to 
nationhood. 

Arrest of Messrs. O'Doherty and Williams 

Within two hours after the editors of the Nation and Irish Felon had 
been lodged in Newgate. Kevin Izod O'Doherty was arrested at his residence 
and on the next day, (Sunday, July 9th,) Richard D'Alton Williams was 
arrested at Dr. Antisell's house. On that evening both gentlemen, after be- 
ing formally committed on a charge of " Treason Felony," were escorted to 
Newgate by a detachment of the city police. Their incarceration completed 
the list of journalistic victims — for the time being, and left the national 
press without a recognized head. 



"Richmond Bridewell, Dec. 10, 1848. 

"My Dear Sik Colman: — I have been given to understand, that one of the articles 
in the indictment against my friend, Charles Gavan Duffy, happens to be a letter of mine 
addressed to the clubs of Dublin on the 7th of last July. 

" Since you are engaged for the defence, I wish to state that I am the author of that 
letter, and that, moreover, it appeared in the Nation before Mr. Duffy, or any other 
person responsibly connected with his paper had seen it. I commenced writing it after 
the first edition of that paper had been put to press, and it was inserted in the second 
edition about 12 o'clock the night of the above-mentioned day. I think it my duty to 
make known this fact, so that no one but myself may be held accountable by the Gov- 
ernment for the sentiments of the letter in question; and that so far as this one circum 
stance will have the effect, it may clearly appear that the imputation attached to my 
friend, of having instigated others to a certain course of action, is utterly unfounded.. 
With great esteem, believe me, my dear Sir Caiman, your faithful friend, 

"Thomas Francis Meagher." 



220 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 



The Trial and Conviction of O'Doherty. 

In October following, Messrs. O'Doherty and Williams were brought to 
trial. The former gentleman, after undergoing two trials — in which the 
juries could not agree — was tried a third time — before a more carefully 
selected set of suborned rascals — and found guilty. He was sentenced to 
transportation for ten years — six of which he underwent before he was re- 
leased with his compatriots O'Brien and Martin. He spent some time in 
Ireland after obtaining his liberty, but subsequently returned to Australia — 
of which country he is an honored and prosperous citizen. 

Williams Acquitted. — Testimony to his Genius and Worth. 

Mr. Williams, though tried on the same charge, and for the same arti- 
cles as O'Doherty, was acquitted. He was the only one of the men — spe- 
cially marked for Government vengeance at the time — who was so lucky. 
His deliverence was looked upon by many as a special dispensation of provi- 
dence, while some of his exuberant countrymen confidently asserted the 
opinion that ,l Shamrock" must have found his "Four-leaved namesake" — 
to baffle the powers of evil as he did. The most prevalent opinion, how- 
ever, was, that his acquittal was due to his being the author of a poem 
entitled "The Sister of Charity," on the beauty, tenderness, and devotional 
feeling of which, his counsel, Samuel Ferguson, dwelt with such persuasive 
eloquence as to soften the hearts and touch the conscience of the jury. In 
the course of his address the poet-advocate bore this strong testimony to 
the high moral character and poetical ability of his client : — 

" Gentlemen, I am not a member of that ancient and venerable church 
within whose pale my client seeks for salvation, and has found tranquility 
and contentment in affliction. But I would be unworthy the noble and gen- 
erous Protestant faith which I profess, if I could withhold my admiration 
from the services which I am instructed he has rendered to the cause of 
religion and of charity, not only by his personal exertions in distributing 
the beneficence of one of the best and most useful charitable institutions 
existing in your city,* but also by his pen, in embodying the purest aspi- 
rations of religion in sublime and beautiful poetry. 

•• When I speak of the services he has rendered to religion by his poe- 
try, allow me also to say that he has also rendered services to the cause 



*The society of St. Vincent de Paul — of which Williams was a devoted and inde 
fatigable agent in Dublin. 



MARKED FOB VENGEANCE. 221 

of patriotism and of humanity by it, and permit me to use the privilege 
of a long apprenticeship in those pursuits, and to say that in my own humble 
judgment, after our great bard Moore, the first living poet of Ireland, is 
this gentleman who now stands at the bar arraigned upon this charge." 

This, coming from the distinguished author of "The Forging of the 
Anchor," is setting the seal to the popular verdict on the Nation's favorite 
poet. 

Another poetical contemporary of Williams, as well as one of his most 
intimate friends — the late John Savage, — pays this tribute to his genius: — 

"His genius was peculiarly and gloriously versatile. His writings un- 
der the well-known signature of ' Shamrock," are in every mood, and with 
equal success. In his patriotic odes a deep tone of elevated piety holds in, 
with beautiful effect, the struggles of an exuberant and well-stored fancy. 
His love poems are full of tenderness and feeling, and his ' Misadventures 
of a Medical Student,' are really unmatched and unmatchable for wit and 
drollery." 

His Career in America. 

Soon after his acquittal, Mr. Williams obtained his medical diploma, and 
practiced at his profession in Dublin for the two succeeding years. In the 
summer of 1S51 he emigrated to America; and after a brief stay in New 
York, enjoying a happy re-uuion with his old compatriots, Savage, Brenan, 
Reiliy, Dillon, Antisell, and O'Gorman, he went South — having obtained a 
position as Professor of Belles Lettres in Spring Hill College, Mobile. In 
1S56 he went to New Orleans, where he practised as a physician for some 
years, and, during that period, contributed some of his best poems to the 
local periodicals. 

About the beginning of 1861 he went to reside at Thibodeaux — where 
he died in the following year, of consumption, and in the lonely little 
church yard of which place his remains were consigned to rest, — and, to 
all appearance, to the oblivion which envelopes the grave of the unknown 
exile dying far away from country and kin. The excitement and confusion 
which followed the tide of war then surging through Louisiana, seemed but 
destined to bury his grave and memory all the deeper. But such was not 
to be the poet's fate. On the contrary, as if by a strange interposition of 
Providence, — the battle-tide bore to the vicinity of that weed-covered grave 
some soldier-children of his own loved Innisf ail — kindred spirits — who knew 
him through his songs, his patiiotism and his humanity — who gloried in 
his lame, and cherished his memory. 



222 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

These men were members ef the 8th Regiment New Hampshire Volun- 
teers, who, stimulated by the gallant Captain Thomas Connolly — erewhilc 
Centre of the Manchester, N. H., Circle of the Fenian Brotherhood — deter- 
mined to place a fitting monument on their minstrel's grave. Captain Con- 
nolly designed the monument — a plain marble shaft — and pedestal — wrote 
the inscription, collected the funds, and then went to New Orleans and gave 
his order and instructions to the sculptor. In a brief space the monument 
reached its destination, and was erected by the patriot soldiers with appro- 
priate ceremonies. 

It bears the following inscription: — 

Sacred to the Memory of 
RICHARD DALTON WILLIAMS, 

The Irish Patriot and Poet, 

Who Died July 5, 1862. Aged 40 Years. 

This Stone was Erected by His Countrymen Serving in Companies C 
and K, 8th Regt., N. H. Volunteers, 

As a Slight Testimonial of their Esteem for his Unsullied 
Patriotism, and his Exalted Devotion 

To the Cause of Irish Freedom. 

It is much to be regretted that no complete collection of Richard Dal- 
ton Williams's poems has ever been published; for, while the greater portion 
of those contributed to the Irish national journals are still easily accessible 
to a competent editor, it is, unfortunately, not so with his many more ma- 
ture compositions written during his American career. Scattered as they are 
through various newspapers and periodicals, several of these latter poems 
are known but to a comparative few of the author's literary cotemporaries, 
and are therefore in danger of being unidentified in the course of time, if 
not soon collected and duly credited. 



WAITING FOB •' THE WORD:' 223 



CHAPTER XLI. 



WATERFORD AND CASHEL. — WAITING FOR THE "WORD." — A 
BRIEF MEMOIR OF MICHAEL DOHENY. 

Slubhal a-bhalle! Slubhal a-bhalle! through our parted island, 
Many a friend and foe hast thou in valley and in highland. 
But where'er the friends are false — when the foes distress thee, 
Siubhal a-bhaile! here are ready weapons to redress theee. 

Gerald Griffin. 

At the time the national journalists were incarcerated in Newgate, most 
of the other Confederate leaders were absent from Dublin, each one work- 
ing where he could do the most good. Smith O'Brien was at his home in 
Cahermoile. Meagher was on a tour of inspection of the Munster Clubs — 
giving them words of advice, encouragement, and hope, previous to his (con- 
templated) departure for America. Doheny was in Tipperary. McGee and 
Hollywood in Wicklow. Thomas Devin Reilly had gone to Monaghan to see 
his sick mother — the only member of his family who sympathized with his 
political principles. Each of these gentlemen — with the exception of O'Brien 
and Reilly — rendered himself so obnoxious to the government during his 
week's campaign as to be amenable to arrest on a charge of sedition. 

Messrs. McGee and Hollywood's offence lay in their delivering seditious 
speeches at Round wood, county of Wicklow, on Sunday, July 2nd. They 
were arrested on the 12th of that month, in Dublin, and remanded for trial 
at the ensuing county Wicklow assizes, on bail. 

Meagher, after visiting Cork, hurried on to Cahermoyle, to consult with 
Smith O'Brien, but not finding him at home,' left a letter for him, which 
was subsequently used as evidence against O'Brien in Clonmel. This letter, 
which was dated July 5th, 1848, concluded as follows : — 

"Well, then, I come to tell you about the American trip. I am off for 
New York, (God willing,) on Saturday — 

•O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea, 
My thoughts as boundless and my soul as free.' 

"What to do? To raise money, to invoke sympathy, — to &c, &c, 



224 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

amuse myself. You will be delighted with the Cork organization. Be so 
good as to mention at the soiree on Monday night the object and the fact 
of my departure, and believe me, ever your faithful friend, 

" Thomas Francis Meagher," 

(The events of the ensuing week caused him to abandon the intended 
visit to America). 

On his return from Cahermoyle to the neighboring town of Rathkeale, 
Meagher addressed the inhabitants from the window of his hotel. For the 
speech then delivered a warrant for his arrest — on the charge of using sedi- 
tious language — was issued. The result led to one of the most important 
of those " lost opportunities " which the Irish people afforded their leaders 
in this eventful year. 

Arrest of Meagher in Waterford, and Dohent in Cashel. 

On Wednesday, July 12th, Dublin was startled by the announcement 
that, on the previous day, Meagher had been arrested in Waterford and 
Doheny in Cashel, and that the populace rose en masse, and would have 
rescued both but for the urgent appeals of the prisoners themselves — who 
begged them to restrain their passionate ardor — as " the time had not yet 
come.'''' The following particulars of both affairs were given by the local 
correspondents of the Freeman: — 

"Arrest of T. F. Meagher, Esq., at Waterford. 

"On Tuesday, about half-past two o'clock, Captain Gunn, accompanied 
by Constable Hughes, arrested Mr. Meagher, at his father's residence in the 
Mall, on a charge of having uttered seditious language at Rathkeale. Upon 
the news spreading, the chapel bells were rung, and the whole population 
turned out. The utmost excitement prevailed in every direction — nothing 
but a rescue was spoken of. 

"Mr. Meagher being informed of this, went to the window, and endea- 
vored to persuade the people against the project. After speaking some ten or 
fifteen minutes, he found it impossible to restrain their feelings, and retired 
almost in despair. After the lapse of an hour or so, during which time he 
was waited upon by numbers of his fellow-citizens of all classes, including 
several magistrates and clergymen, Mr. Meagher again appeared at the win- 
dow, and a second time endeavored to calm the feelings of the people, and 
with some greater effect than at first. In the mean time, a military force, 



ABREST OF MR. MEAGHER. 225 

consisting of a troop of the 4th Light Dragoons, and three companies of 
the 7th Fusileers arrived, and drew up in Beresford street, close to Mr. 
Meagher residence. 

''The streets were still becoming more thronged with people from differ- 
ent directions, and Mr. Meagher, having sent in some of his most trusted 
followers — the men of Bally bricken — amongst the crowd, he succeeded in 
appeasing their irritation to a great extent. About this time Mr. Meagher 
was informed that messengers had been sent to Carrick-on-Suir, for the 
Clubs there organized, and that they would be in march upon the city in 
two or three hours, whereupon he at once dispatched two messengers with 
a written order countermanding the order. 

" At half-past six a chaise and pair drew up opposite the door, and Mr. 
Meagher addressed the people in the most fervent and affectionate manner, 
counselling them not to act upon the rash dictates of the moment, and im- 
plored of them not to stain his soul, or wreck the cause in a sea of una- 
vailing blood. This language, delivered in the most impassioned style, had 
an immense effect upon the crowd, who swore they would obey the instruc- 
tions which Mr. Meagher had given them. 

" He then proceeded to the chaise, acccompanied by his cousin, Roger 
F. Sweetman of Blenheim Lodge, and Captain Gunn, the Chief of the Po- 
lice. It was with the greatest difficulty he could pass through the crowd, 
thousands of his fellow-citizens pressing round him, grasping him by the 
hand, and embracing him with the utmost devotion. 

•'The dragoons then formed on either side of the carriage with drawn 
swords, followed and closed in by strong parties of the 7th Fusileers in for- 
aging dress, each provided with sixty rounds of ball cartridge. This demon- 
stration, however, did not in the least affect, but seemed to increase to a 
most violent extent the enthusiasm of the people. From this to the bridge 
the whole line of quay was one vast mass of human beings, the shops being 
closed, and all the windows thronged with ladies and gentlemen, who waved 
their handkerchiefs in the air, and saluted Mr. Meagher as he passed. It 
was a splendid exhibition of patriotism and devotion to the young citizen, 
and more resembled a triumphant procession than the arrest of " a felon." 

" As they neared the bridge, the passion of the people seemed to break 
out again, vexation drove tears to their eyes, and again and again did they 
rush to the doors of the chaise, exclaiming — "For God's sake sir, give us 
the word!'''' "-For Heaven's sake give us the word!" Mr. Meagher, however, 
still persisted in adhering to the advice which he had given them; and 
there would then come from the people a bitter cry — "You will regret it, sir 
— you will regret it" — and "it is all your own fault." But at this point 

15 



226 MEMOIBS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHEB. 

they seemed likely to act in spite of his remonstrances; for the traces and 
reins of the horses were cut to pieces, and their progress was delayed a 
full half hour. With the assistance, however, of the Rev. Mr. Tracy, who 
sat upon the box of the chaise, some order was restored, and the harness 
replaced. Mr. Meagher's faithful followers, the Ballybricken men, again ex- 
erted themselves to the utmost to see that his instructions were carried out; 
but notwithstanding all their efforts, stones now began to be thrown at the 
military, and Captain Gunn, who was slightly wounded over the right eye, 
was on the point of discharging his pistol when he was seized by Mr. 
Sweetman, and prevented from so doing. 

"At the bridge the obstruction was again renewed, and it was with 
great difficulty they succeeded in forcing a passage. On reaching the oppo- 
site side they were again obstructed by a barricade formed by two immense 
balks of timber, beyond which the people were drawn up. Matters were 
here looking most serious, and the people seemed determined not to allow 
Mr. Meagher to pass the river, when, amid a shower of stones, he got out 
of the chaise, took off his hal, called upon the people to be faithful to the 
promise they had given him, and begged of them to remove the barrier. 
The Rev. Mr. Tracy also remonstrated with them, and after some time they 
nemoved the balks, and allowed the carriage to pass on to the gate at the 
Kilkenny side of the river. Here, however, an immense concourse had col- 
lected, who insisted upon the gate being shut, and actually succeeded in 
driving it home with large planks and beams of timber, by which means 
one party of the dragoons was divided from the other. In this isolated 
state, the people who had assembled on the New Ross and Kilkenny roads 
commenced flinging stones, while those on the other side of the gate crowded 
round the chaise, and implored Mr. Meagher for the last time to give the 
word and "let them out." 

"Mr. Meagher, however, was not to be shaken in his determination, and 
seeing that a bloody riot was inevitable, on account of the dragoons in ad- 
vance of the chaise, and on the other side of the gate, being so desperate, 
again got out of the chaise, and standing upon the roof of it, ordered the 
gate to be opened. Several members of the " Felon Club " at once proceeded 
to put his orders into execution, and, after some time succeeded in opening 
the passage, when, amid the most enthusiastic cheering, but most bitter re- 
gret, and disappointment, and vexation of the people, the chaise, escorted 
by the dragoons and officers of the 7th Fusileers, drove off at a rapid pace 
to overtake the Dublin mail. Owing, however, to the delays along the 
quays, it was not until they came near Ballyhale, a distance of seventeen 



ABBEST OF MB. MEAGHEB. 227 

miles, that they came up to the coach, the dragoons escorting him up to 
this part. 

" Mr. Meagher, accompanied by Captain Gunn and three other police- 
men, entered the mail. At one o'clock he reached the Carlow station, and 
proceeded by train to Dublin, where he arrived at half-past three o'clock." 

The subsequent proceedings are thus narrated in the Freeman : — 

" On arriving in town Mr. Meagher was brought to the College street 
station-house, where some conversation took place between him and Captain 
Gunn, and Mr. Fitzpatrick, the Inspector on duty, as to the propriety of 
allowing Mr. Meagher to go to a hotel. Captain Gunn was apprehensive 
that a rescue might be attempted by the Clubs; but Mr. Fitzpatrick assured 
him that he would not have the slightest hesitation in walking around the 
city with Mr. Meagher at that moment, if Mr. Meagher only gave his word 
that he would not abuse his confidence. Captain Gunn, however, still seemed 
to hesitate, and said that if Mr. Meagher would pledge his word to him, 
he would have no objection to letting him go to a hotel, but he would re- 
quire the attendance of one or two policemen. 

"Mr. Meagher replied that 'he had already pledged his word to Captain 
Gunn, in Waterford, that he would not take advantage of any courtesy 
which might be shown him; that he had kept that word solemnly in Wa- 
terford — when he might have broken it with success; that Captain Gunn 
himself was aware that but for his (Mr. Meagher's) exertions, he would 
have been seriously, if not fatally, wounded; that those circumstances should 
have rendered a second pledge unnecessary; that he would not give his 
word a second time; and that if Captain Gunn had not sufficient confidence 
in him, he would remain where he was, and require no indulgence.' 

"Thereupon, Captain Gunn consented to Mr. Meagher's retiring to the 
Star and Garter Hotel, in D'Olier street." 

It was only through the report of the above proceeding in the next 
morning's papers that Mr. Meagher's arrest became known throughout Dub- 
lin, and as the people were under the impression that he was arrested under 
the " Treason-Felony Act," the excitement was intense. At an early hour 
the hotel was thronged with gentlemen who hastened to tender their sym- 
pathy to Mr. Meagher — several clergymen being among the number, includ- 
ing one young priest — the Rev. Dr. Croke, at that time unknown to fame, 
but who, on that week, publicly commenced his career of consistent patri- 
otism that, — apart from his position as one of the highest and most honored 
dignitaries of the Irish Church, — has caused his name to be revered and 



228 MEMOIRS OF GEN.F THOMAS RANCIS MEAGHER. 

beloved, wherever, over this wide earth, there congregates a company of 
the Irish race.* 

About noon Mr. Meagher, accompanied by his friends, proceeded to th» 
College street police office, where, after some delay — including an adjournment 
to perfect sureties, he entered into his own recognizances of £300, to appear 
at the next Limerick assizes, to answer the charge preferred against him, 
and Mr. Richard O'Gorman, senior, and Alderman Butler perfected their 
bail-bonds as sureties in the sum of £250 each. 

The proceedings having terminated, Mr. Meagher left the office and was 
almost borne bodily to the hotel in the arms of the exulting multitude, 
which filled D'Olier street from end to end in one compact mass. Every 
available space was occupied, and even the lamp-posts and the projections 
of the houses opposite the hotel were taken possession of by the people. 

Amid a storm of cheers Mr. Meagher presented himself at the window 
to address the impatient crowd. It was his last public speech in Dublin, 
and the last which I ever heard him deliver in Ireland; and, for that reason, 
it is more clearly impressed on my memory than many of his more impor- 
tant orations, to which I listened during that spirit-stirring spring and 
summer. 

When silence was restored he spoke as follows: — 

MEAGHER'S LAST PUBLIC SPEECH IN DUBLIN. 

(July 12th, 1848.) 

"Fellow-countrymen, — I have only got a few words to say to you at 
present, because I don't wish you to put yourselves in the way of having 



* Note. — Chakles Gavan Duffy, in his "Tour Tears of Irish History!" records 
this interesting incident of Dr. Croke's courageous patriotism at the period referred to in 
the text, i. e., the week after his own arrest: — 

" A little later, as the prospect grew darker, two young priests, whom I had never 
seen before, visited me in Newgate to make a gallant proposal. As the national editors 
were in prison, and their successors threatened with arrest, they suggested that certain 
young priests, themselves to begin, should take the place of the imprisoned publicists and 
carry on their work. I told them that to my thinking there would soon be no longer 
any national press to conduct; we had arrived at a point where the Government must 
extingush it, or abandon their other measures of suppression, I indicated, however, a 
place where the services of young priests would soon be in request, and be eminently 
useful. 

*' One of these young ecclesiastics w&s Dr. Barry, afterwards Principal of St. Patrlek's 
College, Melbourne. The other was Dr. Croke, the present Archbishop of Cashel." 



LAST SPEECH IX DUBLIX. 229 

this peaceable meeting interrupted by force. I merely come forward to tell 
you the nature of the circumstance which has caused some excitement 
amongst you, and it is this : That I was arrested yesterday, and brought 
out of Waterford by a troop of the 4th Light Dragoons, and two or three 
companies of the 7th Fusileers. (Laughter.) It was thought in Waterford 
that I had been arrested on a charge of felony; but it is quite evident they 
have missed their shot this time. (Laughter and cheers). 

" I have also to tell you, my friends, that but for my most passionate 
appeals to the people, I never would stand here to-day. (Great cheering). 
My fellow-citizens of Waterford had barricaded and shut the gates of their 
city — (tremendous and protracted cheers) — and it was at my urgent en- 
treaty that the barricades were removed, and the gates opened; for I told 
them not to do anything rash — I told them that I was not yet in prison, 
and that they might regret any rash act which they were induced to com- 
mit under the excitement of the moment. I was right in giving that ad- 
vice, and they were right in taking it; but I now tell you emphatically, 
that you may depend upon the men of Waterford. (Loud cheers). 

" I go from this city at half-past eight o'clock this evening, to appear 
at the next assizes of Limerick to stand my trial — that is, if I like it, — 
(laughter,) — for making use of seditious language at Eathkeale the other 
night. I was speaking there a short time ago, and was not aware that 
there was any government reporter present; but I afterwards found that 
this duty was performed by two police constables, — (groans,) — with whom 
I was endeavoring to fraternize, but who, as the sequel proves, rejected my 
fair advances. (Loud laughter). 

" Well, I go to Limerick without the slightest apprehension of any con- 
sequences whatever, (cheers) ; and what is more, I am determined that they 
shall not have me in Newgate. (Immense cheering). My oratory is at an 
end, at least for some time. The people will not lose me or my services, 
of whatever use they may be to them. (Loud cheers). Therefore, as I re- 
serve myself for your cause, I call upon you to pluck up heart, and pursue 
your course with undiminished ardor. (Cheers). Never mind those arrtsts; 
you have true men amongst you still. (Hear, hear). Organize as you have 
been doing heretofore; keep that ground and maintain it. (Cheers). Never 
mind these threats of the suppression of the clubs; continue to enroll your 
members, and then if they shut up the rooms you have the names still on 
the cards. (Cheers). 

"This is the advice I give you; and I am sure that, as under existing 
circumstances my advice was taken by the people, in this more gratifying 



230 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

state of things, an advice less difficult to adopt will be followed by equal 
readiness. Courage! — a few more efforts, and we will have the day." 

On the following Saturday Meagher appeared in Limerick Court-House, 
and gave bail to stand his trial there at the next assizes. 

Arrest of Michael Doheny in Cashel. — His Friends to the Rescue. 

Should woe or want oppress his friends — 

Though State and Fate proclaim dlspalr, he 
Against them all the "Pass" defends, 

And rights the wrongs of Tipperary.— Davis. 

On the morning of the day on which Meagher was arrested in Water- 
ford, his associate-patriot, Michael Doheny, was taken into custody in Cashel, 
their offences were similar, and, — by a strange coincidence, — so were the 
ebullitions of the popular feeling to which their arrests gave rise. It was 
as if the blow struck at their favorite leaders had produced an electric 
spark which simultaneously fired the hearts of the two best fighting coun- 
ties in Ireland. As if further to carry out the parallel — in both instances — 
it was by the most strenuous exertions of the people's champions that the 
flame was extinguished which might otherwise have, in twenty-four hours, 
set every hill-top in Munster ablaze with the belfires of revolution. Three 
weeks afterwards, those leaders, aimless wanderers, would have sacrificed 
their lives to re-kindle the passionate enthusiasm and fiery determination 
which they then deemed it their highest duty to Ireland to allay, and stifle. 
But alas! the glorious opportunity was lost — and could not be retrieved 
for the time. 

The particulars of Doheny's arrest are thus related by an eye-witness 
of the proceedings : — 

'Cashed, Tuesday, July 11th, 1848. 

" Mr. Michael Doheny was arrested this morning, in his own house, by 
Mr. Joseph Cox, the sub-inspector of police, and taken before Mr. Ffrench, 
the stipendiary magistrate, charged, under the late act of Parliament, with 
sedition, uttered in a speech pronounced by him at Roscrea, in the North 
Riding. After a short examination, he was ordered to be committed to 
gaol. 

" As soon as it was known that Mr. Doheny was being conveyed from 
the magistrate's office by a back way for the city gaol, the streets resounded 
with the heavy trampings of the mob as they ran to the rescue; and, whe- 
ther for good or evil, to our credit or discredit, let what will be said, there 



MEMOIB, OF MICHAEL DOHENY. 231 

was a rescue. That Mr. Doheny is now in gaol, is his own fault; no man 
will deny it. Neither the magistrates nor the inspector can deny it; and 
he was rescued, too, before the mob were half-way to the scene. The 
people of one street did it — that in the vicinity of the gaol. The number 
of police to be sure, — (and it is but just to say it,) — that guarded the 
prisoner, was very small, but it mattered little — ten times the number would 
certainly have been torn piece-meal, I verily believe, but for the vice-presi- 
dents and wardens of our clubs. Never in all my life did I witness such 
determination. 

'■Mr. Doheny spoke several times from a window to no purpose. The 
prominent members of the clubs strove with all their might to open a pas- 
sage 10 no purpose; everything was done to calm the populace, but nothing 
effected. The police were huiled about like so many foot-balls. They 
were ordered to load by their commander, but the Hon. Martin Ffrench, 
our worthy magistrate, countermanded the order. At last Mr. Doheny again 
essayed to speak; he implored the people by the love they bore him, by 
every thing they held dear, to let him go, and that he would soon return, 
for his oft'ence was bailable, and that he had only to go to Roscrea, give 
bail, and then return. This, and this alone, pacified the people. They 
shouted • We will, we will,' and quickly withdrew." 

MEMOIR OF MICHAEL DOHENY. 

Michael Doheny was born at Brookhiy, near Fethard, in the county 
of Tipperary, on May 22, 1S05. His father was of the class known as 
" small fanners," and from early boyhood until he achieved a competency 
by his industry, genius, and indomitable perseverance, Michael was inured to 
a life of penury and toil. His father was too poor to pay for his children's 
education in the neighboring town; but, like nearly all his class in those 
days, he was not too poor to accord the right of hospitality to the wan- 
dering beggar, the "piper," or the "poor scholar." It was from one of 
the latter, whom he had domiciled under his humble roof, that his sot.', 
Michael, received his first lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic, but 
from the age of ten until he arrived at manhood he received no instruction 
whatever except what was derived from the perusal of the few books which 
came in his way, the contents of which he devoured with avidity. He had 
attaiued the age of twenty-one when, for the first time in his life, he went 
to school. His preceptor was a celebrated classical and mathematical scholar 
named Maher, who lived near Emly. With this man Michael Doheny re- 
mained for nine months, paying at the rate of five shillings a quarter for 



232 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

his tuition; and these fifteen shillings was all the money ever expended on 
his education. 

His thirst for knowledge and the force of his native intellect, however, 
soon made up for his lack of schooling, and he, eventually, became a pro- 
ficient in the science of mathematics, as well as an excellent classical scholar. 
He was also well versed in the Irish language, which he both spoke and 
wrote fluently and correctly, and his knowledge of the history and litera- 
ture of his native land was profound and extensive. A poet him-elf by na- 
ture, the music and poetry of his country had ever a fascination for him; 
and the many beautiful songs and ballads, both original and translated, 
which, in moments of relaxation from more serious work, he has given to 
the world, would, of themselves, entitle him to a high place in the estima- 
tion of every admirer of genuine Irish poetry. 

For some years he followed the profession of tutor to several respectable 
families in the county Tipperary, all the time amassing more knowledge 
himself, and occasionally contributing articles to the Irish press. 

Emphatically one of the people, he was a partaker of all their pastimes, 
trials, and sorrows. Possessed of a strong and athletic frame, he was ever 
welcome at every exhibition of rural strength or agility which took place 
for miles round his residence, and few amongst his stalwart compeers of 
Tipperary were found to outmatch him at foot-ball, hurling, race or stone- 
putting. 

Though no one was more conversant with the miseries inflicted on the 
peasantry through the agency, of British law; though, from his childhood, 
he had become familiar with evictions, domiciliary visits, and tithe dis- 
traints, which fed the holy hatred that he had imbibed with his mother's 
milk ; though — as became one so thoroughly identified with his persecuted 
race — he occasionally lent the assistance of his counsel and his arm toward 
battling and counteracting the machinations of exterminators and tithe-raid- 
ers; yet, until he had attained his twenty-seventh year, he kept aloof from 
each and all of the various political organizations which sprang up period- 
ically in Ireland. For he had no sympathy with agitations got up for the 
purpose of opening the doors of official patronage to the hitherto tabooed 
race of '"respectable Catholics" — at the expense of their toiling co-religion- 
ists; he despised "ameliorations," and believed in his soul that nothing 
tending to the benefit of Ireland could emanate from the British Parlia- 
ment. This revolutionary idea he inculcated on his compatriots long before 
John Mitchel promulgated it with such effect as to make it a fundamental 
article in the political creed of Irish nationalists. 

It was not, therefore, until O'Connell started the first Repeal Associa- 



ME MOIB, OF MICHAEL DOHENY. 233 

tion, in 1831, that Michael Doheny affiliated himself with a public Irish 
organization. He then regarded a Repeal of the Union as nearly equivalent 
to an independent nationality. So strongly did the hope which the new 
movement inspired effect his honest and enthusiastic nature, that he deter- 
mined to shape his future course in life so as to make it subordinate to 
the great end it had in view. It was chiefly on this account that he chose 
the bar as his profession. 

He attended a course of lectures in Dublin, and from thence he pro- 
ceeded to London, where he became a student in the Temple, supporting 
himself, in the meantime, by his pen. 

On being admitted to the bar he returned to Ireland, where he soon 
after married Miss Jane O'Dwyer, a lady of one of the best families of the 
old Celtic stock, in Tipperary. He settled to practice his profession in 
Cashel, where he was previously well known, and where he soon became 
highly popular from the boldness and ability with which he defended the 
poor — in most instances without fee — against iheir local tyrants. As was 
to be expected, he incurred the hatred of the latter in a proportionate de- 
gree; but he gloried in the fact — and he flourished on their animosity. 
After the passage of the Municipal Reform Bill, he was appointed legal 
adviser to the borough of Cashel, and in that capacity he recovered consid- 
erable property belonging to the borough, which certain parties in the vicinity 
had, for a length of time, appropriated to their private use. 

This legal victory, obtained as it was, over the representatives of the 
long dominant faction, added considerably to Doheny's fame as a lawyer, nua 
he soon was in a fair way of achieving an independence through the exer- 
cise of his prolession. 

In the mean time, a circumstance occurred which confirmed to him as 
a man the golden opinions he had won as a lawyer. The cholera, for the 
first time, had broken out in Cashel, and its dreadful ravages spread such 
consternation and dismay throughout the community, that most of t lose 
whose circumstances permitted fled the plague-stricken town, leaving the 
onerous task of taking care of the poor to a few noble-hearted citizens, 
who constituted themselves into a " Board of Health," and who, night and 
day, were constant in their exertions to alleviate the sufferings of their 
indigent neighbors. 

Foremost amongst those chivalrous philanthropists was Doheny. Such was 
his heroic courage and Christian charity that when the pestilence became 
so violent that even the very men hired to convey the sick to the hospital, 
and the dead to the grave, abandoned their duty and fled, terror-stricken 



234 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

from the place, he, by himself, in many instances, was known to convey 
the victims of the disease on his shoulders to their destination. 

No wonder that Michael Doheny was revered and beloved by the gratpful, 
and warm-hearted people who witnessed his devotion to their wants in those 
perilous times. 

When, deluded by Whig promises, O'Connell was induced to formally 
dissolve the first Repeal Association, Doheny, who had joined the organiza- 
tion with a sincere determination of fighting out the battle to the end — felt 
disheartened and disgusted at the collapse of his cherished hopes, and held 
aloof from the several political organizations which succeeded each other at 
intervals during the ensuing seven years; and it was not until O'Connell — 
having thoroughly tested the English Whigs, and finding them false in every 
instance, —flung party affiliations to the winds, and placing his sole reli- 
ance on the patriotism of the Irish people, founded, in 1840, the great Irish 
National Repeal Association, — that the earnest Tipperary man again "enlisted 
for the war." 

For some time previous to his formal enrollment, Doheny had been in 
correspondence with Thomas Davis, then an active member of the associa- 
tion; and, as no man whose neart beat truly for Ireland, could come within 
the sphere of Davis's magic influence and not be won over to his views, it 
did not take long for such a congenial spirit as Doheny's to catch the sa- 
cred spark from that heavenly fire which was destined to illume the island. 
Davis, then, it was, who induced.-, Doheny to join the new Repeal Associa- 
tion; and once he was connected with it, he set himself resolutely to incul- 
cate its doctrines on his associates in town and country, by voice and pen, 
and with all the energies he could command. 

The Nation had been started some time previously, and, —outside its 
three illustrious founders — Michael Doheny became one of its earliest and 
most valued contributors, and, two years later, when the writers connected 
with that great journal determined to rescue their country's literature from 
the abject condition in which it had so long lain, and, as a consequence of 
this resolution, that invaluable series of national works known as "The Li- 
brary of Ireland," was projected, Doheny chose for the subject of his quota 
of the noble work, the " History of the American Revolution." It was a 
theme peculiarly attractive to his nature — the successful struggle of a lib- 
erty-loving people against an intolerable tyranny — the same vile power which 
was even then crushing the life-blood out of his own Motherland. How 
well he fulfilled his self-allotted labor of love can best be understood by a 
perusal of the work itself. 

For a detailed account of Doheny's connection with the events of the 



MEMOIR OF MICHAEL DO HE NY. 935 

three years succeeding the publication of the Library of Ireland, I refer my 
readers to '-The Felon's Track," in which work he has graphically depicted 
the history of that period, so fraught with physical suffering and ruined 
hopes, to the land and the people he loved so well. Suffice it to say 
here, that, in those trying times, no man bore himself more courage- 
ously, or labored more hopefully and persistently in his country's cause, 
than Michael Doheny. 

And, furthermore, when that cause sank in gloom — for the time — and 
he, after running 

"The Outlaw's dark career," 

found, with some of his compatriots — exiles in this glorious land — the free- 
dom they were denied at home, not one amongst them all — previous to the 
arrival of John O'Mahony in New York — was so effective and so indefat- 
igable in the work of creating and fostering the various societies of Irish 
revolutionists which were the precursors of the "Fenian Brotherhood." 
In that great organization, from its inception to his death he was the ablest 
and most effective associate, as he was the most intimate friend of its illus- 
trious founder. 

As if in compensation for his unswerving fidelity to the land of his 
birth and love, he was destined by Providence to feast his eyes on it once 
more before closing them for ever on earth. After thirteen years of exile 
he returned to Ireland to lay the remains of his fellow-rebel, Terence Bel- 
lew MacManus, in his mother earth. His reception by his true-hearted 
countrymen was all that he could desire, or his friends feel proud of. And 
bo. after fulfilling his sacred mission, and devoting a couple of months to 
revisiting the old familiar places in " Green' Erin of the Streams," he hope- 
fully re-crossed the Atlantic to labor for his dear Mother with renewed 
energy — as he fondly thought. Alas ! in two months after landing, his 
great, warm heart was at rest. His death took place on the 1st of April, 
1882. His body lies in Calvary Cemetery. 

" God's Peace to His Soul." 



230 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

THE SLIEVENAMON MEETING. 
(July 16, 1848.) 

Weep the great Departed — the patriot-hearted! 

With life they paited for Ireland's right; 
To fehem give glory, though tyrants gory 

Spread the false story, ,; they fled in fright." 
O, 'twas small terror! we fell to error, 

No chiefs there were or an ordered van; 
Yet when came war's rattle we fled not battle, 

Though like herdle&s cattle on Slievenamon! 

(A '98 song — From the Irish. George Sigersox translator.) 

Situated equidistant between the towns of Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir, 
and looming nearly two thousand four hundred feet above the glorious 
"Plain of Femhan," stands sublime and alone — like a giant sentinel — the 
mountain now known as Slievenamon — the anglicized form of the ancient 
Gaelic appellation of " Sliabh-na-m Ban bh-Fionn" i. e. the " Mountain of 
the Fair Women." With no Irish hill are there more ancient traditions con- 
nected — some of them extending beyond the dawn of authenticated history. 
But, to go no farther back than the third century of the Christian era, 
there is sufficient evidence, both historical and traditional, to prove that the 
stone seat on its summit, known by the name of Suidhe Finn (Suee-Finn,) 
i. e. "Finn's Seat" — or resting-place — was so called from the fact that 
Finn MacCumhall, chief of the Fiann' of Eireann, was wo&t to make it his 
station while his warriors were engaged in the chn=» o"> the plain beneath. 
Certain it is, that, from no other of his favorite mountain-seats — from end 
*) end of the island — could the warrior-hunter enjoy a prospect more sub- 
lime, extensive, varied, and beautiful. 

It was the same, in all its natural features, that Cromwell gazed upon, 
fourteen centuries later, when he exclaimed : — 

" That is a country worth fighting for i 

No Irishman — with fighting blood pulsing through his heart — will dis- 



THE SLIEVENAMON MEETING. 237 

sent from the assertion — were it even made by the arch-hell-hound himself, 
instead of one of his most blood-thirsty whelps. 

At all events, not one such man could be found among the fifty thou- 
sand who witnes-ed the prospect from the brow of that classic hill on Sun- 
day, July 16th, 1848. 

For that was the place and the time selected by Meagher and Doheny 
on which, in the face of friend and foe to give their response to Claren- 
don and his subordinate scoundrels. Surely, no more appropriate spot could 
be found from which to recall memories of the past, or enkindle hopes for 
the future of their land. 

From an early hour on that beautiful Sabbath morning unusual excite- 
ment was exhibited in Carrick and the surrounding district; for "Carrick 
Green" was the appointed rendezvous where the clubs of the town and its 
vicinity were to form, preparatory to their march on Slievenamon. 

Long before the time of meeting, crowds flocked into the town from 
the counties of Waterford, Kilkenny and even Wexford, while the roads to 
the mountain were blocked with people enthusiastically wending their way 
towards the appointed rallying spot. Though, as the sun rose higher above 
the eastern horizon, the heat became intense; and though the ascent to the 
mountain-top was very steep, it mattered little to the light-hearted, sinewy- 
limbed way-farers. From the north and west — extending from the banks 
of the Anner through the whole length of the " Golden Vale," and beyond 
the Limerick border, other thousands came to swell the concourse. 

Since daylight the military and police stationed in Cariick were under 
arms in their respective barracks, under the orders of Mr. Gore, the Kesi- 
dent Magistrate. But heedless of them or their possible action, the Clubs 
drew up on the "Green" under their respective presidents, and promptly, 
at the time appointed, set out on their march for the hill, amid the wild- 
est exclamations of delight and defiance from the townspeople of both sexes 
— who were physically unfitted for the arduous task of breasting the lofty 
mountain. The upper portion of the hill was black with the assembled 
multitude already arrived at the goal of their ambition, when a cheer, which 
extended from base to summit, and reverberated from all sides of the grand 
old mountain, heralded the approach of Michael Doheny, in the uniform of 
the "82 Club, at the head of 6,000 men from middle Tipperary. 

At 2 p. m., when the full numbers had assembled, it was computed 
that 50,000 men stood around their leaders within hearing distance of " Suidhe 
Finn." 

Mr. James OT)onnell occupied the chair, and Mr. Doheny then addressed 
the meeting in a thrilling and most eloquent speech of over an hour's dur- 



233 MEMOIRS OF GEN TIIO'IAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

ation. He dwelt most emphatically on the urgent necessity of the people 
providing themselves with arms by every available means — even though 
every foot of ground in Tipperary was "proclaimed" — '■'■Where there was a will 
there xoas a way!'''' He spoke on the utility of the club organization, and hoped 
that it soon embrace the whole people from one end of the country to the 
other. He particularly recommended temperance — as essential to success; 
advised the people to be orderly and calm, firm and true, and not fear the 
result of the impending conflict. He concluded amid a storm of enthusiastic 
cheers. 

MEAGHER'S SPEECH ON SLIEVENAMON. 

The Limerick Examiner publish d the annexed report of Meagher's 
speech : — 

"Mr. Meagher next appeared in the tribune, wearing a green cap with 
gold band and a splendid tricolor sash. He was received with unbounded 
enthusiasm. When the applause subsided, he said: — 

'Men of Tipperary, I feel that I am not equal to this occasion, and to 
your expectation. For the last few days I have undergone so much fatigue 
that I despair of giving expression to my sentiments in language that will 
command this audience, reaching its utmost limits, and in thoughts which 
the cause demands, and my hopes inspire. 

"You have heard a true son of Irish soil, whose rugged virtues partake 
of the character of the country. You have heard him say lhat I am to 
stand my trial next assizes, which will be " the day after the fair." (Laugh- 
ter). If there is any one here to communicate the proceedings of this meet- 
ing to the government, I trust that they will find out that they have 
made a great mistake in arresting me, (hear, hear, and loud cheers, and 
" You shall never follow Mitchel.") I am here not only to repent of nothing, 
but to dare them to do something worse. 

' When I threw myself into this movement, when I was scarcely yet of 
age, I did not do so to gain an honorable name for any purpose of profit 
or emolument. I felt that I lived in a land of slavery, and that if God 
gave me intellect, it ought to be employed for the country. It was with 
this feeling I joined the cause of Ireland at a moment when every nation 
wished to see her flag unfurled on these hills. (Tremendous cheering). 

'"Forty-three" passed away, but its vows have not passed away, 
wish I had the eloquence of him who then stirred up the country. O'Con- 
nell, like all great men, had his faults — but he had his virtues — and he 
had victories. This I will say, that he preached a cause that we are bound 



MEAGHER'S SPEECH ON SLIEVENAMOy. 239 

Ito see out. He used to say — "I may not see what I have labored for. 
am an old man — my arm is withered — no epitaph of victory may mark 
my grave — but I see a young generation with redder blood in their veins, 
and they will do the work." (Cheers). Therefore it is that I ambition to 
decorate these hills with the flag of my country. 

4 A scourge came from God which ought to have stirred you up into 
greater action. The potato was smiten; but your fields waved with gol- 
den grain. It was not for you. To your lips it was forbidden fruit. 
The ships came and bore it away, and when the price rose it came back, 
but not for the victims whose lips grew pale, and quivered, and opened no 
more. (Sensation). Did I say that they opened no more? Yes, they did 
open in Heaven, to accuse your rulers. Those lips, beautiful and fresh 
with the light of God — (sensation) — supplicated His throne, and He has 
blessed our cause. (Cheers). The fact is plain, that this land, which is 
yours by nature, and by God's gift, is not yours by the law of the land. 
— There were bayonets, therefore, between the people and their rightful 
food. 

'Are ye content that the harvest of this land which you see, and to 
which your labor has imparted fruitfulness, should again be reaped for the 
stranger? (Loud cries of no, no). Walking in this glorious scenery, Crom- 
well said: — "13 not this a land worth fighting for?" (Loud cheers, and 
cries of we would fight and die for it). There always appeared to me a 
cloud on its brightest scenery, because it did not belong to Its inhabitants — 
because our flag was not here. The flag of England waves over all your 
institutions. 

fc The famine came and then their coercion laws. (Hear, hear). Then a 
gallant man, young and brave, with a young wife and young children, who, 
if they were not made of heroic clay, would have caught him to their 
breasts before he went forth to preach the glorious gospel, that "the life of 
a peasant -is worth the life of a lord." (Loud and continued cheers). That 
gospel went through the country, and you said it was the true one. (Cries 
of " so it is.") Because he preached this they took him, threw him into a 
prison, and banished him from his own native land. (Cries of " we'll bring 
him back.") 

' There is a stain on the nation while he remains in Bermuda. He does 
not sleep — his feverish chafed spirit know^s no rest. — He is listening day by 
day to the sound of the waves, thinking that in those sounds will come his 
liberty and yours. (Applause). Because he does not rest, you ought not to 
rest. He stood up before his judges, and he said, " You have done your 
duty — I have done mine." Like the Roman youth, who, standing before tha 



240 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

tyrant, put his hand into the. fire till it was burned, and said — ' there are 
three hundred to follow my example.' I will promise for one, two, three, 
aye, for three hundred." (Tremendous cheering). He uttered that prophecy, 
and he is not deceived. Others have stepped into the breach, and Newgate 
will hereafter be dedicated in our history as the temple of liberty. 

'Will you permit the country to be deprived of these men? (Loud 
cries of "never," and tremendous cheering). I stand here upon the lofty 
summit of a country which, if we do not win for ourselves, we must win 
for those who come after us. (Hear, hear). As my friend said to-day, — 
"You will mount higher than this, and face a more burning sun." (Cries 
of "aye, the top of the cannon.") No man came here to-day that is not 
determined to brave the worst the foe can do. I have not come here for 
speech-making, but to teach you the duties you owe yourselves and the 
prisoners.' 

"Some other speakers then addressed the meeting, which finally sepa- 
rated about seven o'clock," 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE CLUBS. — DUBLIN, DROGHEDA, CORK 

AND WATERFORD PROCLAIMED. —THE HABEAS 

CORPUS ACT SUSPENDED. 

The genuine passion of the people, which In a great crisis is as real and terrible as 
elemental fire, was found in the clubs alone. Nearly all that was formidable to England 
or hopeful to Ireland, was concentrated in them. 

Chables Gavan Duffy. 

On the morning after Meagher's departure from Dublin to Limerick, I 
met Devin Reilly, (who had hastened back from Monaghan on learning the 
arrest of the national editors). After our first greeting, I asked him what 
be "thought of the state of affairs now?" 

"Faith!" he replied, "I did not think they would all have been laid 
by the heels so soon." 

" Oh ! " said I, "I did not refer to them, but to the boy3 of Water- 
ford and Cashel. Had you been there what would you do?" 



SUSPENSION OF THE HABE.iS COul'US 241 

"You may be sure I would not have stopped them, my boy! — but 
* taken them while in the humor.' " 

"Well I knew it! — I'm sorry you missed the chance, for such oppor- 
tunities don't often come to us!" 

"That's true; but brace up your heart; this state of things can't last 
much longer; the Government won't stay its hand now — until they force a 
crisis." 

It was even as he had foreseen. The next move of the Castle authori- 
ties was directed to the disarming and suppression of the Clubs. They had 
been urged to take this step for some weeks past by the conservative press 
and the landlord garrison; but hesitated until the Slievenamon meeting warned 
them that, if they were to act at all, they must act promptly. 

Accordingly, three days after Tipperary had spoken, Clarendon issued a 
proclamation ordering all persons who lived in proclaimed districts, and were 
not specialty licensed, to give up their arms and ammunition within four 
days, on penalty of a year's imprisonment with hard labor. 

All Tipperary, and several other well-known disaffected districts, had been 
"proclaimed" long before this ukase was issued; but now, in order to strike 
at the Clubs in their strongholds, Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Drogheda, 
were immediately proclaimed. 

Meagher, for Waterford, promptly responded to the "stand and deliver" 
order of the Castle brigand. No sooner was the " Lion and Unicorn " noti- 
fication posted in his native city than he issued a counter proclamation 
with the " Harp on the Green," calling upon the people to disregard the 
Castle ; to stand to their arms ; continue their Club organization, and wait reso- 
lutely and calmly for the orders of their chosen leaders. This proclamation 
was posted on, or beside, every copy of that stuck up by Her Majesty's 
knights of the paste-pot, in the " Urbs Intacta" I saw several of them in 
"cheek-by-jowl" proximity ten days later. 

Both Charles Gavan Duffy, and John Martin, from their cells in New- 
gate, wroie articles for their respective papers, signed with their initials, 
advising the people to keep their arms. The editor of the Nation said em- 
phatically : — 

"For myself, if the people are robbed of their arms — if the Clubs are 
broken up — if all the organization and discipline won with such toil are 
flung away in an hour — if the spirit of the country, so universally evoked, 
be again permitted to die out — if these things can happen after the terri. 
ble lessons we have before us, written in the blood and tears of the nation, 
I, for one, will not curse the packed jury that sends me far from such a 
spectacle." 

16 



242 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

John Martin's manly advice on this occasion constituted the principal 
article in the indictment on which he was convicted. 

But the Clubs did not wait for the advice of their imprisoned leaders, 
nor for the action of the government which led thereto. Clearly anticipat- 
ing what was sure to occur soon, they, — on Sunday, July 16th, — on the 
very hour that the Slievenamon meeting was being held — held special meet- 
ings in their several halls, for the purpose, first, of ascertaining their numer- 
ical strength, the quantity and quality of arms on hand, and the opinion 
of the members as to the advisability of meeting the Government's expected 
assault by a general uprising in Dublin: and, secondly, to elect delegates 
to represent them at a meeting — to be held on the next evening — and at 
which it was expected a supreme Executive Committee would be elected. 

The meeting of the Swift Club on this most important occasion, was 
presided over by Mr. John Smith, the venerable '98 veteran. In the discus- 
sion which took place, it was developed that the members were overwhelm- 
ingly in favor of fighting on the first attempt of the Government to disarm 
them. Nearly all the members were armed with either rifles or pikes — in 
the proportion of about one of the former to two of the latter. But, in 
the event of a fight, more than half the Club would be supplied with fire- 
arms, for, when the project of seizing on the contents of the gun-shops was 
referred to, one of the members — a gun-smith, and, perhaps, the most exten- 
sive dealer in fire-arms then in Dublin, announced, that, when the hour of 
action came, his stock in trade, with his life, was at the service of Ireland; 
that he had an inventory of the several classes of weapons, which — with a 
requisite portion of proper ammunition — he would turn over to the officers 
of the Club — taking a receipt tor the same, and trusting to be paid the 
price thereof by an Irish National Government — if the cause was success- 
ful — and he survived the contest. 

Two delegates were then elected, and instructed to vote on behalf of 
the Club — for fighting — when called on. 

The first meeting of the Club delegates was held at the Council-Rooms 
on Monday evening, July 17th. Smith O'Brien was present. But, save a 
return of the reports, as to the state of preparedness of the several Clubs, 
no business was then transacted. On the 20th — when Dublin was proclaimed, 
— another meeting of the delegates was held, at which it was supposed 
some definite plan of action, suited to the emergency, would be adopted. 
It was the most important meeting — in its consequences to the Irish cause — 
held in Dublin during that year. When the question of what was to be 
done in response to the Government proclamation came up for discussion, 
Joseph Brennan, — one of the most gifted, earnest and enthusiastic young 



SU8PB&SI0JS OF THE HABEAS COBPUH. 



men in Ireland, moved, on behalf of the St. Patrick's Club, of which he 
was a delegate, " That the Clubs anticipate the Government attack, and strike 
at once — before the search for arms had commenced:' The motion being duly- 
seconded, John Dillon moved an amendment to the effect — " That the. people 
should be recommended to CONCEAL their arms, — and give a passive resist- 
ance to the proclamation:' Smith O'Brien supported John Dillon, and a most 
animated debate ensued, in the course of which it was argued by some one in 
favor of a waiting policy, that " the people were not yet sufficiently pre- 
pared for a conflict." 

In reply to this ik waiter on Providence," " Bob. Ward," in a tone of 
passionate scorn, exclaimed: — 

"'Not yet sufficiently prepared! There are some people who will never 
be prepared — fellows who, — if the Almighty rained down rifles ready loaded 
from Heaven, — would ask Him to send down angels to pick them up and Are 
them.'"' 

Smith O'Brien gazed with astonishment at the indignant extempore ora- 
tor, but no one attempted to reply to his caustic, and very original defini- 
tion of the excuse-making do-nothings. 

Dillon's motion was, eventually, carried by a small majority, after which 
the convention adjourned for two days. 

The decision arrived at £t the meeting above recorded, settled the ques- 
tion as to any future combined action of the Dublin Clubs. The individual 
members, in obedience to orders, concealed their arms, but they never received 
orders to take them up again; for, within a week, the Habeas Corpus Act 
was suspended, and the leaders to avoid immediate arrest, had to abandon 
the capital for the country districts. It is useless to speculate now on what 
might have occurred had a different line of action been adopted at that 
meeting, and J do not propose dealing with the subject — further than to 
give expression to the thought — often since forced upon me — that, had the 
brave, chivalrous, and devoted John Dillon, imagined, that before the com- 
ing week was over, he would be confronting England's soldiers, on a barri- 
cade, in command of a few hundred half-armed peasants — to whom he was, 
until then, a perfect stranger — he would have preferred to take his stand, as 
he might have done, at the dead of ten thousand organized and intelligent 
comrades in the streets of Dublin. 

But to return to the history of this eventful week — the last I spent 
(at that period) in the national capital. 

A public meeting was held the night after the Castle proclamation was issued 
At this meeting Smith O'Brien reported the result of his tour of inspection 
in the South. It was highly encouraging. Among the statements it con- 



244 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

tained was the important fact that, in Cork he met ten thousand organized 
Confederates, and as many more able-bodied men who promised to act with 
them. He also stated that throughout the country districts the national feeling 
was deep and wide-spread. 

At the adjourned meeting of the Club delegates held on Saturday, July 
22d. John Dillon in the chair, an executive council of five was chosen, 
which, thenceforth, was to have supreme control of the revolutionary move- 
ment. The members elected were John Dillon, Thomas F. Meagher, Richard 
O'Gorman, Thomas Darcy McGee, and Thomas Devin Reilly. Mr. O'Brien, 
who was not present at the meeting, was, by his own desire, omitted from 
the list, as his special duties would take him next morning to Wexford, 
to continue his inspection of the South.* 

The newly-elected executive was never convened. O'Gorman left Dublin 
for Limerick immediately after the adjournment of the meetiag, his mission 
being to take charge of the movement in Thomond, wherein was situated 
the patrimonial tribe-lands of his ancestral clan. 

He had left the city but a few hours, when the news came that, on 
the same day, Lord John Russell had carried through the House of Com- 
mons, without the least opposition, a bill to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act in 
Ireland, and that it would be passed by the House of Lords and become 
law on the following Monday. 

This action on the Government's part, might have been anticipated at 
any moment since the arrests of the editors, but that " Liberal " Irish Mem- 
bers of Parliament, elected for the most part by the popular vote, should 
be so utterly devoid of national spirit, and so basely subservient to their 
country's oppressors — as to let this blow in the dark be strucK at their 
motherland without an attempt to parry it, or a single cry of warning — 
this depth of treachery the people were not prepared for Yet it is a fact 
that, not only was no opposition offered to, or warning given of this ne- 
farious act, but that some Irish Members, who, — both before and since — 
posed as '* patriots ''(?) actually voted for the passage of the bill. 

It was through a private dispatch received at the office of the Freeman's 
Journal that the news became known in Dublin in time to give the popular 
lenders then in the city, a brief warning of what was impending over them 
and their compatriots. A few of these leaders, including three members of 
the Executive Council, — Meagher, Dillon, and McGee — met at the Council- 
Room in D'Olier street. 

The result of their deliberation is recorded in the annexed extract fiom a 

i *Four Years of Irish History, page 639. 



^TAKING TEE FIELD. 



personal narrative by Meagher, entitled — " A Memoir of Forty-Eight," — which 
originally appeared in the Dublin Nation, while the writer was still a state- 
prisoner in Australia. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

"TAKING THE FIELD." 
(From " Meagher's Memoirs of Forty-Eight.") 

"When we reached the Conn oil-Rooms we found and MeGee 

there, and, after a short conversat'oi with them, it was arranged that the 
former should leave iu the evening f.jr Paris, put himself immediately into 
communication with the mosc influential Irishmen residing in that city, 
and leave nothing undone to procure a military intervention, in the event 
of the insurrection we contemplated taking place. 

"In a few hours he sailed from Kingstown; and I have lately heard, 
from a trusted source, that the duties he undertook were performed by him 
with great ardor, intelligence and success; that, in fact, owing to his ear- 
nest representations, the armed intervention of the French government would 
have taken place, had we made a good beginning, and shown ourselves wor- 
thy of so honorable an assistance. 

"As for McGee, he volunteered to start the same evening for Belfast, 
cross over to Glasgow, and lie concealed there until he heard from Dillon. 
Should he receive any favorable information, he was to summon the Irish 
population of that city to rise and attack whatever troops were intrusted 
with its defence. In case of these troops being overpowered, he should seize 
two or three of the largest merchant steamers lying in the Clyde; with 
pi-tols to their heads, compel the engineers and sailors to work them out; 
steer round the north coast of Ireland; and at the head of two thousand 
men, or more, if he could get them, make a descent on Sligo; fight his 
way across the Shannon and join us in Tipperary.* 



* Note. — Viewing this project In after years — in the light of his well-earned military 
experience, how Meagher must have smiled at its absurdity? For, even admitting that 
the fust part of the proposed scheme was feasible, — and thfct a landing coald be made at 



246 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

1 This project may now appear a monstrously absurd one. At the time, 
however, many circumstances concurred to give it a rational, sober, practi- 
cable character. Adventurous, bold, and dangerous in the highest degree, it 
certainly was, to the individual who proposed and ventured to conduct it. 
But, once taken in hand by our countrymen in Glasgow, no doubt coul- 
have been entertained of its accomplishment. Not alone, that the Irish their 
numbered several thousands ;• not alone that Chartism was on the watch 
there, and panting for an outbreak; but the city was almost wholly defence- 
less; the troops of the line had been drafted off to other places; and, as a 
substitute an awkward militia force had been hastily patched up, and strapped 
together. 

"The project, however, — whether it was good or bad — did not origi- 
nate exclusively with McGee. In proposing it to us, he was acting in obe- 
dience to the wishes of three Delegates who had arrived in Dublin th^ 
previous evening, and had been instructed by a large body of Irishmen, res- 
ident in Glasgow, to lay the project in question before the chief men of 
the Clubs, and urge them to sanction, encourage, and direct it. 

"That evening, McGee started for Belfast; and, next day, crossed over 
to Scotland; where, I have since learned, from^.a Catholic clergyman of high 
integrity and intellect, he went through the difficult and perilous business 
he had undertaken, with singular energy, tact and firmness; and for several 
days stood fully prepared to carry out the views just stated had Dillon or 
I sent him word to do so. 

"Why we failed to communicate with him will be easily learned from 
the sequel of this letter. 

" Yet, upon a moment's reflection, I think it may be more satisfactory 
for me to state at once, that in consequence of no decisive blow having 
been struck in Tipperary, we felt we could not be justified in bringing our 
friend, and the men under him, into collision with the Government. He was 
to take the field in the event of our establishing a good footing in the 



Sligo— the idea that a body of men, partially armed, wholly undisciplined, and led by a 
stranger both to his command, and to the country through which lay his line of march, 
— and, more over, one unacquainted with even the rudiments of military knowledge — 
could undertake to traverse three counties and pass the Shannon, (barred as the route was 
by the strategic line of railway connecting Dublin, Atblone and Gal way— and the inter- 
mediate garrisons,) was so utterly Quixotic, that it is incomprehensible how any man — 
bent on conducting a national insurrection — could entertain It for a moment: That our 
Irish leaders, admittedly, did so, was such an evidence of their military incapacity as 
would, of itself, sufficiently account for the failure of '48, were there no other (unfore- 
seen) impediments to be encountered. 



•• TAKING THE FIELD." 247 

South ; and this not having been accomplished, it would have been treach- 
erous on our part to have written a line directing him to explode the con- 
spiracy he had organized. 

"Having parted with and McGee, Dillon and I went up stairs 

to the room used for private committees, took down the large map of Ire- 
land which hung there, and folding it up with the intention of bringing it 
with us to the country, returned to the room in which Halpin and his 
assistants were at work. 

" We desired the former to let Duffy, Martin, and the other Confederate? 
in Newgate, know of our going to the country, and our resolution of 
commencing the insurrection, if possible, in Kilkenny. 

" We farther desired him to communicate, in the course of the evening, with- 
the officers of Clubs; inform them of our intentions; and desire them to be in 
readiness to rise, and barricade the streets, when the news of our being in the 
field should reach them; and when, as an inevitable result, three or four regi- 
ments from the Dublin garrison had been drawn off to reinforce the troops of 
the. southern districts " 

[I have ralicized the foregoing paragraph in Mr. Meagher's narrative, for 
the purpose of directing my readers' particular attention to the important 
statement made therein — and, because I intend to show, in the next chap- 
ter of this work, that not only were the Clubs not notified on the evening 
in question of the instructions left by the members of the Executive Coun- 
cil for their guidance, but that, — two days aftericards — in answer to a direct 
question — Mr. Halpin denied positively having received any instructions what- 
soever for the guidance of the Clubs, from the gentlemen in question before 
their departure from Dublin.] 

"We had wished good-bye to Halpin, and were going out, when young 

R H and Smyth came up. We told them the arrangements we had 

made; intreated them to go round to the different clubs that evening — 
state openly to the members what we proposed doing — communicate to 
them our wishes; and exhort them to observe a calm, patient attitude, un- 
til the moment we designated for their coming into action had arrived. 
"They promised faithfully to do so. 

"We arrived at the Kingstown railway station just in time to catch the 
5 o'clock train. 

" The carriages were crowded, and the conversation very noisy about the 
Suspension Act. I retain a vivid picture of one gentleman in particular; a very 
stiff, cold, sober gentleman, with red whiskers and a gambouge complexion; 
who took occasion to remark, in quite a startling and fragmentary style, 
that 'the Government had done the thing — the desirable thing — at last — 



248 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

time for them — should have been done long ago — country had gone half- 
way to the devil already — Whigs always ii finally slow — had given those 
scoundrels too much rope — but they'd hang themselves — he'd swear it — 
that he would.' 

"I nudged Dillon at the conclusion of ihese consoling observations. He 
threw a quiet, humorsome look at the loyal subject with the red whiskers 
and gambouge complexion, and burst out laughing. He was joined by some 
gentlemen, and two or three ladies, who recognized us, but little suspected, 
I should say, the errand we were on. 

" At Kingstown we got upon the Atmosphere Railway, and rattled off 
to Dalkey. Half an hour after, we were at dinner in Druid Lodge, Killi- 
ney, where Mrs. Dillon was staying at the time. 

"I should have mentioned, before this, that whilst Dillon and I were at 
the Council-Rooms in D'Olier street, Lawless went to the office of the Wex- 
ford coach, and engaged for us two inside seats, as far as Enniscorthy, in that 
night's mail, leaving word with the clerk that the gentlemen for whom he 
had engaged the seats were to be taken up at Loghlinstown ; a little village 
seven miles from Dublin, and little more than two from Druid Lodge. 

" The places were taken in the name of Charles Hart, with a view to 
conceal our departure from the police, who were on the alert; picking out, 
in every nook and corner, information relative to our movements. 

"At half-past eight we left Druid Lodge for Loghlinstown. We did not 
enter the village, however; but drew up at the tree, opposite, I believe, to 
Sir George Cockburn's demesne. 

" There, underneath that fine old tree, we remained for about twenty 
minutes, until the coach came up, and, whilst we were standing in silence 
under it, surrounded by the darkness, which the deepening twilight, ming- 
ling with the shadow of the leaves, threw round us, I could not but reflect, 
with something of a heavy heart, upon the troubled Future, within the con- 
fines of which I had set my foot, never to withdraw it. 

"The eveniDg, which was cold and wet, the gloom and stillness of the 
spot, naturally gave rise to sentiments of a melancholy nature. But, above 
all, a feeling, which, for many days, had more or less painfully pressed upon 
my mind, and which, in some of the most exciting scenes I had lately 
passed through, failed not to exercise a saddening influence upon my thoughts 
and language — the feeling that we were aiming far beyond our strength, 
and launching our young resources upon a sea of troubles, through which 
the Divine hand alone could guide and save them; this feeling, more than 
all, depressed me at the moment of which I speak, and I felt far from being 
happy. . 



TAKING THE FIELD." 249 



"At that moment, I entertained no hope of success. I knew well the 
people were unprepared for a struggle; but, at the same time I felt con- 
vinced that the leading men of the Confederation were bound to go out, 
and offer to the country the sword and banner of Revolt, whatever conse- 
quences might result to themselves for doing so. 

"The position we stood in; the language we had used; the promises we 
had made; the defiances we had uttered; our entire career, short as it was, 
seemed to require from us a step no less daring and defiant than that which 
the Government had taken. 

"Besides, here was an audacious inroad upon the liberty of the subject! 
The utter abrogation of the sacred personal inviolability, guaranteed by sound 
old law, to all people linked by rags or golden cords to the Brunswick 
Crown ! Was it not the choicest ground of quarrel, upon which a people, 
provoked and wronged like the Irish people had been for years and years, 
could fling down the gauge of battle. 

" Was it not said, too, by the most peaceable of our Repealers, that, 
the moment the Constitution wa3 invaded, they would sound the trumpet, 
and pitch their tents? Was it not said oVer and over again, by these sen- 
sitive, scrupulous, pious, poor men — by these meek, forbearing, mendicant 
Crusaders — that they would stand within the Constitution ? On both feet 
within it? But that the very instant the soldier or the lawyer crossed it, 
they would unsheathe the sword of Gideon, and with a mighty voice, call 
upon the Lord of Hosts, and the Angel of Sennacherib! 

"I hold that the leaders of the Confederation were bound to give these 
men an opportunity to redeem their pledges; bound to give the people, who 
honestly and earnestly desired to change their condition, an opportunity to 
attempt such a change, if it so happened that all they required was the 
opportunity to make the attempt; bound, at all events, and whatever might 
be the result to themselves, to mark, in the strongest and most conclusive 
manner, their detestation of an act which left a great community to be 
dealt with, just as the suspicions of a Police Magistrate, a Detective, or a 
Viceroy might suggest. 

"And what is the befitting answer of a people to the Parliaments, the 
Cabinets, or Privy Councils, that deem it 'expedient' to brand the arms, 
and gag the utterance of a nation? There is but one way to reply to them, 
and that is, by the signal-fires of insurrection. 

"Then again had we not gone out upon the Suspension Act, and written 
our protest against that measure upon the standard of Rebellion, the Eng- 
lish officials would have been led to believe that the privileges of Irish citL 
zens might be abused, not only with perfect impunity, but without one 



250 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

manly symptom of resentment. We preferred risking our lives, rather than 
suffer this contemptuous impression to go abroad. 

"Thoughts such as these crossed my mind — as hastily and irregularly 
as I have now written them — whilst we were waiting for the coach. In 
giving them to you, I have made no effort to mould them into anything like 
an accurate and graceful form. Yet, misshapen as they are, you may, per- 
haps, glean from them the motives that prompted me to an enterprise which 
I felt convinced would fail, and learn the views I took, at the last moment, 
of our position and its duties, the difficulties by which it was surrounded, 
and the sacrifices which it exacted. 

"At nine o'clock the coach came up; and having wished Charles Hart, 
who had accompanied us from Druid Lodge, an affectionate farewell, Dillon 
and I took our places ; the guard sung out k All right ! ' and in a second or 
two, we were dashing away, in gallant style, along the road to Bray. 

" We were the only inside passengers, and we had the good fortune not 
to be interrupted until we came to Enniscorthy. 

" At Rudd's hotel we dismounted and ordered a car for Ballinkeele. It 
was little more than five o'clock, and the morning was bitterly cold. A 
clear, bright sun. however, was melting the thin frost which had fallen in 
the night, and changing into golden vapor tne grey mist which arched the 
gentle current of the Slaney. Not a soul was stirring in the streets; the 
hotel itself was dismally quiet; the fowls in the stable-yard, and the gruff 
old dog, beside the soft warm ashes of the kitchen-fire, were all at rest. 

" Whilst the car was getting ready, I sat down before the fire, and 
taking out the last number of the Felon, read lor Dillon, the beautiful, 
noble appeal — written, as I have understood since, by James Finton Lalor 
— which ended with this question: — 

" Who will draw the first blood for Ireland? Who mil win a wreath that 
shall be green forever?" 

"Passing out of the town, the first object which struck us was Vinegar 
Hill, with the old dismantled wind-mil, on the summit of it, sparkling in 
the morning light. You can easily imagine the topic upon which our con- 
versation turned, as we passed by it. 

"Alas! it is a bitter thought with me whilst I write these lines — more 
bitter, far, a thousand times, than the worst privations of prison-life — that, 
unlike those gallant Wexford men of '98, we have left behind us no famous 
field, within the length and breadth of our old country, which men could 
point to with proud sensation, and fair hands strew with garlands. 

" After an hour's drive we arrived at Ballinkeele, and, having asked for 
Smith O'Brien, were shown by the servant to his room. 



•• taking the field." 251 



"We found him in bed. He did not seem much surprised at the news 
we told him, and asked us what we proposed to do? Dillon replied, there were 
three courses open to us. The first to permit ourselves to be arrested. The 
second, to escape. The third, to throw ourselves upon the country, and 
give the signal of insurrection. 

"O'Brien's answer was just what we had expected. As to effecting an 
escape, he was decidedly opposed to it; whatever might occur, he would not 
leave the country ; and as to permitting ourselves to be arrested, without 
first appealing to the people, and testing their disposition, he was of opinion 
we would seriously compromise our position before the public, were we to 
do so. The suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act was an event, he conceived, 
which should excite, as it would assuredly justify, every Irishman in taking 
up arms against the government — at all events he felt it to be our duty 
to make the experiment. 

"I told him we had come to the same conclusion previous to our leav- 
ing Dublin, and were prepared to take the field with him that day. 

'-' He then got up, and having sent for Mr. Maher, informed him of 
the news we had brought. It was arranged we should breakfast immedi- 
ately, and leave Ballinkeele with as little delay as possible. 

" At ten o'clock we were seated in Mr. Maher" s carriage, and on our 
way to Enniscorthy. Whilst we drove along, different plans of operation 
were discussed of which the one I now state to you was, in the end, con- 
sidered the best. 

" From all we had heard, we were of opinion it would not be advisable 
to make our first stand in Wexford; very few Confederates having been 
enrolled from that county, and our political connection with it, consequently, 
being extremely slight. Indeed, there was scarcely a single man of influ- 
ence in the county, with whom we could put ourselves in communication ; 
and, without taking other circumstances of an unfavorable nature into con- 
sideration, it appeared to us, that, this being our first visit amongst them, 
it was too much to expect that the Wexford men would rally round 
us with the enthusiasm which the people, in other parts of the country, 
where we were better known, would be sure to exhibit. It was absolutely 
necessary to commence the insurrection with heart and vigor, and, at a 
glance, we saw, that, in Waterford, in Kilkenny, in Tipperary, we might 
calculate upon the manifestation of the warmest and boldest spirit. 

"At first O'Brien was strongly in favor of going to New Ross. I was 
opposed to this, and argued against it, with no little anxiety; urging upon 
him the serious disadvantage it would be to us — in case the people of New 
Ross responded to our appeal — to commence the fight in a town so help- 



252 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

lessly exposed to the fire of the war-steamers then lying in the Barrow, and 
the number of which, in little more than two hours, would certainly be 
increased by a contingent from the larger ones which were anchored in the 
Suir, abreast of Waterford. 

"The like objection prevailed against our selection of the latter place; 
and we finally determined upon making for Kilkenny. The same plan, in 
fact, which Dillon and I thought of, the day before, was agreed to by 
O'Brien. 

" It seemed to him, as it had seemed to us, that Kilkenny was the 
very best place in which the insurrection could break out. Perfectly safe 
from all war-steamers, gun-boats, floating-batteries, standing on the frontiers 
of the three best fighting counties in Ireland, Waterford, Wexford and Tip- 
perary — the peasantry of which could find no difficulty in pouring in to its 
relief; possessing f".om three to five thousand Confederates, vhe greater num- 
ber of whom we understood to be armed; most of the streets being extremely 
narrow, and presenting, on this account, the greatest facility for the erec- 
tion of barricades; the barracks lying outside the town, and the line cf 
communication between the principal portions of the latter and the former, 
being intercepted by the old bridge over the Nore, which might be easily de- 
fended, or, at the worst, very speedily demolished; no place, it appeared to 
us. could be better adapted for the first scene of the revolution, than this, 
the ancient ' City of the Confederates.' 

" In making this selection, there were one or two considerations, of 
temporary interest, which influenced us to some extent. 

•' The railway from Dublin was completed to Bagnalstown only, leaving 
fourteen miles of the ordinary coach road still open between the latter place 
and Kilkenny. The thick shrubberies and plantations; the high bramble 
fences, and at different intervals, the strong limestone walls which flank 
this road; the sharp twists and turns at certain points along it; the alter- 
nations of hill and hollow, which render a journey by it so broken and 
diversified; its uniform narrowness, and the steep embankments, which, in 
one or two places, spring up where its width measures scarcely sixteen feet; 
everything was in favor of its being converted, by an insurgent population, 
with almost certain security and ease, to the most successful enterprises. 

" Along this road, as they left the station-house at Bagnalstown, and 
marched upon Kilkenny, whole regiments, draughted off from the Dublin and 
Newbridge garrisons, might have been surprised and cut to pieces had the 
country once been up. 

" Then the Royal Agricultural Society was on the eve of holding its 
annual cattle show in Kilkenny; specimens of the choicest beef and mutton 



FOLLOWING THE LEADER. 



had already arrived, and, in full clover, were awaUing the inspection of the 
highest nobles, and the wealthiest commoners of the land. Many, too, of 
these proud gentlemen had themselvss arrived; and carriages might have 
been met, each hour, along the different avenues to the town, freighted 
with the rank, the gaiety and fashion of the surrounding country. In case 
of a sustained resistance, here was a creditable supply of hostages and pro- 
visions for the insurgents! 

" With some hundred head of the primest cattle in the island, we could 
have managed admirably behind the barricades for three or four days; whilst 
with a couple of Earls, from half a dozen to a dozen Baronets, an odd Mar- 
quis, or. "the only Duke" himself, in custody, we might have found ourselves 
in an exellenj position to dictate terms to the Government. 



CHAPTER XLV. 



"FOLLOWING THE LEADER." 

"Follow thee' follow heel Wha wadna* follow thwF 
Long hast thou lo'ed an' trusted us fatriy I " 

Under th<* form of a "Personal Narrative," I deem it expedient to de- 
vote this chapter to a record of the occurrences which transpired under my 
own observation in Dublin during the two days immediately following that 
on which Meagher left the city, as well as to some interesting incidents 
of my experiences — while in the country — engaged in the exciting play of 
*' Follow the Leader," during the remaining portion of that eventful week 
— the material for the authentic history of which can only be found in the 
collected narratives of a similar character, which participators in the scenes 
described have left on record. 

On Sunday, July 23d, the news of the intended suspension of the Ha- 
beas Corpus Act became generally known throughout Dublin, and a rumor 
became current among prominent Club-men that their leaders had hastily 
left the city, 

The intelligence created neither alarm nor astonishment; but all felt 
convinced that the long-expected " crisis " was, at last upon them, and qui- 
etly, and resolutely, awaited the " order " —which, they felt confident, would, 
at the proper moment, reach them from the Executive Committee. 



254 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

This hopeful sentiment was encouraged and strengthened by the bold 
and confident tone of the Nation and Felon in their last week's issue. These 
papers — having gone to press on Friday night — had, of course, no reference 
to the Government's treacherous coup d'etat, but, without that incentive, 
they, in most unmisakable language, gave the people to understand that 
the time for preparation had gone by, and the time for action was as hand. 
(It was the last opporiunity afforded those gallant exponents of popular 
sentiment. — But they fell at their post — and with the "Green flag flying.") 
On Mondav, the public feeling became somewhat feverish, and the long- 
ing for some definite intelligence from the absent leaders grew more 
intense among the Club-men. In the early forenoon I was on my way to 
the Council-Rooms, in search of information from the Secretary, Mr. Thomas 
Matthew Halpin, when I was suddenly accosted, on the street, by my friend 
John "Williams, who grasped my hand, and whispered, excitedly : — " I'm 
glad I've met you ! — The hour has come at last — the • game's a-foot I ' — they're 
•up' in Tipperary ! " 

" Thanks be to God ! " was my fervent response — " I'll be up with them 
to-morrow! But," I added— "what orders have come to the clubs?" 
He replied that he "had not, as yet heard of any!" 
I thought that strange, under the critical circumstances, and so expressed 
myself. But Mr. Williams explained that the dispatch just received was 
necessarily brief, and hurried — that he ' had no doubt but some definite 
instructions for the guidance of the clubs would be communicated to their 
officers in the course of the day." 

As, filled with the joyous — all-absorbing idea of going to fight near 
home — the future (possible) action of my Dublin associates had become a 
secondary consideration with me, I entered no further on the subject with 
him. 

After our parting, I gave up the intention of proceeding to the Council- 
Booms at that time — but hastened back to my lodgings, to announce the 
thrilling news to my comrades — and prepare them for the journey south 
on the morrow. 

As we were to enter on the campaign in " light marching order," it 
didn't take long to make the requisite preparations. But, before attending 
to them, we purposed devoting the rest of the day to bidding " good-bye " 
to as many as possible ot the dear friends we had made during our four 
months' sojourn in Dublin. 

The first of these whom I wished to see was Devin Reilly. But it was 
not so much for the purpose of taking leave of him, as to consult with, 
and be guided by him as to my future course; for, besides being one of 



"FOLLOWING THE LEADEB." 255 

my dearest and most trusted friends in the Organization, he was also a 
member of the Executive Council, and the only one of that body still re- 
maining in Dublin. It was possible, therefore, that, as one of their most 
popular leaders, he might have been assigntu to take command of the Clubs, 
in case an immediate " rising " in the metropolis constituted a part of the 
revolutionary programme; — in which event, I would forego my intention of 
leaving the city, aud take my stand by his side. 

Most fortunately, while on my way to Mr. Reilly's residence, in Rath- 
mines — I met him, accidentally, in the city. I told him what I had heard 
from Mr. Williams, and asked him "what course he intended to take?'' 

He replied that " he, also, had heard the late important news, but 
that, prior to its receipt^ he was about leaving the city to join the others 
in Tipperary," and that he " would depart on that evening."* He also said 
that he had intended seeing me before he left, to make arrangements for 
my joining them there. He then asked me ''if I had ever been in Cashel, 
and «knew where Doheny lived there? 

On my answering both questions affirmatively, he instructed me to meet 
him at Doheny's house, with my two comrades, on the next evening — as 
he would, most probably, meet Smith O'Brien and his companions there, 
about that time. I assured him that we'd be there. 

In the evening I called at the Council-Rooms to ascertain if any instruc- 
tions for the clubs had been left there by the Executive Council. I also 
hoped to meet some friends there (in quest of similar information,) — to whom 
I wished to bid "good-bye." I did meet several of these — including two 
prominent officers of the Swift Club — Edward Keating and Michael Moran. 

[Edward Keating was one of the most active and intelligent of the 
working Confederates in Dublin, he was also one of the men who continued 
to work in the revolutionary cause in Ireland, while a hope remained — and 
long after the leaders of the '48 movement had been exiled over the earth. 
In 1850, he, too, was destined to leave Ireland — for America. On his arri- 
val in New York he speedily became associated with the men of his race 
who still hoped — and were preparing — to strike a blow for the old land; 



* When Dillon's confidential messenger reached me In Newgate, announcing the pur 
pose and plan with which he and Meagher had joined O'Brien, I told John Martin, and 
we sent Immediately for a few of our friends, among others T. B. McManus, Maurice 
Leyne, and Devin Reilly. We advised them to follow Dillon immediately. The same com- 
munication was made confidentially to a few Club men; for if a stand were made it was 
of the last importance that reiiable men should be at hani to serve and second the 
leaders.— Chakles Gavan Duffy, in "Four Years of Irish History." Page 654. 



256 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

he was elected to a lieutenancy in the old 9th — the first Irish Regiment 
raised in New York. By profession a silver-smith and engraver, and a skillful 
artist, his services were always in demand. He moved South some time 
previous to the war; and eventually his name became one of the most widely 
known throughout the Confederacy — it being found on most of the Confed- 
erate notes engraved in Columbia, S. C. After the war, he returned to New 
York. 

Michael Moran was a most earnest and enthusiastic Republican, and a 
devoted disciple of John Mitchel. He was a natural-born orator, and, in 
the Swift Club, he passionately advocated the rescue of his favorite leader 
in opposition to Meagher's argument against the adoption of such a course. 
His was a sad fate. On the night following that on which I parted him- 
self and Uis brother Joseph, at the Council-Rooms, both were arrested by a 
police force on the street. Michael resisted desperately, and in the fight 
which ensued, he disabled one of the police by a blow from a dagger. He 
was finally overpowered, and with some of his companions lodged in New- 
gate. Tried for the offence, he was sentenced to transportation for life — 
but he died in prison.] 

In the presence of these Club-men I inquired of the Secretary, Mr. 
Halpin, "if, before their departure from the city, the members of the Exe- 
cutive Council had left any instructions for the guidance of the Clubs?" 

He replied that "they had not— to his knowledge," and he reiterated the 
statement, emphatically, when I expressed surprise that the chosen officers 
of the Organization should, " in such an emergency, have left the city with- 
out a word of advice to the thousands of armed men who looked to them 
for guidance."' 

In the absence of any positive information to the contrary none of us 
could see cause for doubting Mr. Halpin's statement — however disappointed 
we all felt at what we considered a singular oversight on the part of our 
most trusted leaders. 

[The Secretary of the Confederation at this time was Mr. Halpin, an 
intelligent and honest young man, but without vigor of will or decision of 
character, and he performed very inadequately the duty of communicating 
with the Clubs. The detectives considered his father-in-law and his wife 
persons with whom they might successfully tamper to ascertain where the 
books and papers of the Confederation were concealed. They did not suc- 
ceed in corrupting them, but Mr. Halpin seems to have been disturbed and 
paralyzed by the attempt. The want of precise information threw the clubs 



"FOLLOWING THE LEA DEE ." 257 

into complete confusion, and he set out in a day or two for Tipperary, leaving 
them without any efficient channel of information. —Charles Gavan Duffy's 
"Four Years of Irish History."' Fage 653. 

In an unpublished MSS. of John O'Mahony's, now in my possession — 
entitled: "Personal Narrative of my Connection with the Attempted 
Eising OF 1848," I find the following reference to Mr. Halpin and the 
Dublin Club-men : — 

" Shortly after Meagher, Mr. Leyne and Halpin, (Secretary of the Con- 
federation,) came. Halpin wanted instructions for the Dublin Club-men, who 
were completely at fault on account of the sudden disappearance of the 
leaders — who had left town without leaving a word of instructions for 
their guidance, or any means of communicating with their missing chiefs. 
Poor Club-men of Dublin ! not a townland in Tipperary but was visited by 
some Qf them, in the vain search for an insurgent camp." 

" Meagher sent Halpin off", telling him something about breaking up a 
railroad."] 

Moreover, the statement seemed to receive corroboration from the fact 
that, when it was made, there was not a single leading Confederate left 
(at large) in Dublin — for Devin Reilly had — in accordance with ihe advice 
of his friends in Newgate, left for Tipperary that afternoon, and P. J. 
Smyth had taken the same direction on the day before, in consequence of 
his having received information that his immediate arrest was contemplated.* 

Thus it was, that all that finely organized and armed intelligence of 
the capital, which had cost so much time and labor to bring to perlection, 
was permitted to lie idle; for, under the circumstances, the Club-men were 
driven to the conclusion that — for the present at all events — they were 
doomed to remain passive spectators of the drama, to take a leading part 
in which they had for months past, so hopefully striven to prepare tnemselves. 
They could not comprehend why their leaders — instead of calling on them 
to strike the long-wished for " first blow " — should prefer, suddenly and 
unannounced, to throw themselves on the unorganized peasantry — in a dis- 
trict where "arms-acts" had been uniutetmittently in force, and where, 



* Smyth, who had been left in charge of Dublin, but without specific instructions, 
and ordered to act according to circumstances, louud that his immediate arrest was con- 
templated, and he resolved to mate his way to Tipperary while it was still possible on 
Sunday morning he and James Cantwell left for Thurles. — Charles G. Duffy's "Four 
Years ol Irish History. Page 655. 
17 



253 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

even the possession of a percussion cap, or a pitch-fork with prongs of 
unusual length, was punished with twelve months' imprisonment. Under 
the influence of these bitter reflections — no wonder that these men, hitherto 
so brave and patiently hopeful, should become disheartened and bewildered, 
and feel, verily, as if they were left — 

"Sheep without a shepherd — when the snow shuts out the sky." 

Directly, or by implication, these Dublin Club-men have been charged — 
by open foes, or misinformed friends of the Irish cause — with having — as 
a body — acted an unworthy and pusillanimous part in this crisis of their 
country's cause; and it was not until the publication of Charles Gavan 
Duffy's able history of the period, that anything like an adequate vindication 
of their conduct had been attempted. From personal observation, and the clos- 
est political association at the time, with that noble band of brothers, I feel it 
a prideful duty — while dealing with the events of the period— to add my 
humble testimony to that of the illustrious writer and statesman, in doing 
justice to the exalted patriotism, courage, and self-saciificing devotion of as 
fine a body of Irishmen — endowed with the best attributes of their race — 
as ever I met — or desire to meet. 

After taking leave of such of our friends as we had time to communi- 
cate with, myself and comrades devoted the brief remainder of the night to 
placing our arms in a safe hiding-place until they should be required for 
use in the city. We ripped up a portion of the floor of our bed-room, and 
there stowed a well-oiled musket, two full-mounted pikes — and the handle 
of a third — the blade — being the one given to me by John Mitchel — I de- 
termined to take with me to Minister — where I could easily remount it, at 
short notice, —01, so I then felt satisfied I could, but, in this connection, 
my subsequent experience exemplified the Scottish bard's sage apothegm: — 

"The bes-t laid schemes o' mice and men, 
Gang aft agley " 

However, havino: wrapped up the cherished memento of our banished 
"Felon" carefully in a handkerchief, and placed a cork on the point, I 
found 1 could carry it without inconvenience, inside my vest — either walk- 
ing or sitting in a railway carriage, and without running any risk of its 
presence being noticed by a casual observer. 

On Tuesday morning, while on our way to the railway station, we again 
met Mr. 'Williams. He told me that orders had just been received to tear 
up the railway at Salins, and asked, "if I would not like to take a hand 
in the work? I told him I preferred going direct 10 where I could find 
more congenial employment, and would get there as qui jkly as possible — 



-FOLLOWING THE LEADER." 259 

while the way was yet open to me. He coincided with me, and we parted 

— he, to drum up volunteers to obstruct the railway; and we, to get at 
the safe side of the "gap." In another hour we were speeding on our way 
to our "Land of Promise!" 

On our approaching Salins station, we curiously scanned the scene — of 
what we landed would soon constitute an exciting episode of our country's 
history : but. in the brief glance we were enabled to take, we could only 
notice that there seemed to be no deep cutting on that portion of the line 

— the country in the vicinity being quite level; however, during the mo- 
mentary stoppage at the station, we saw that the railway crossed the Grand 
Canal near-by ; and that , from thence to Dublin, the two ran parallel and 
iu close proximity to each other, hence we surmised that the "bridge" over 
t. e canal was to be the spot selected for destruction. 

.But we were debarred from exchanging opinions on the subject, by the 
fact, that we had, for a fellow-passenger in the same compartment, — a man, 
who, soon after the train started, informed us that he was a " police-recruit 

— stationed for the past six mouths at the Depot in Phoenix Park, and now 
on furlough going to visit his friends, in his native place, Fermoy." 

This timely (volunteered) information warned us to avoid all reference 
to our own birth-place— (Cappoquin being only fifteen miles from Fermoy — 
and "Peelers" — however "green" — being naturally "suspicious customers.*') 
But, as we found we were destined to have the company of our confid- 
ing neighbor as far as Cashel, we saw no harm in stating that that town 
was our destination; and, as he then remarked that, "he had never been 
in the place but once— when passing through it on his way to Dublin" — 
we felt that, he was not likely to ask any awkward questions regarding the 
town or our connection therewith. And neither did he; yet, for all that, 
his presence amongst us, had, — unconsciously to him, — and fortuitously to 
us — a marked iuiluence in shaping our adventures during the remainder of 
that eventful week : 

"Men are the sport of circumstances— when 
The ciicuni&tance.s fceein the sport of men." 

This is what occurred to place us on the list of fated mortals. 

On the arrival of the train at Thurles, the travellers to Cashel found 
conveyance thereto on a four-horse "Bianeoni car." Our party, (including 
the iucipient Peeler.) were about paying their fares, when I bethought me 
to find out if the peculiarly-constructed seats of the vehicle would interfere 
with my mode of carrying the '••pike." It was lucuy I did so — for, on trial, 
I found it impossible to conceal the weapon and sit in a comfortable posi- 
tion. So I whispered my predicament to Dan., telling him I would walk to 



260 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

Cashel, and meet him early next morning on the road near Doheny's house. 
I then, — in the hearing of the cause of my change of plans — announced 
that I had some relatives in Thurles on whom I wished to call, but that 
I would meet my companions at " Ryan's Hotel," in Cashel, in time for 
breakfast, next morning. 

Waiting till the car started, 1.— with no very charitable wishes for one 
of its passengers — set out on my twelve miles tramp. It was then nearly 
dusk in the eving, but the road was dry and good; and, as I had travelled 
over it before I knew the way. I had completed about two-thirds of the jour- 
ney, when [ heard, to my right, the sound of a railway train proceeding from 
Thurles to Dundrum station. I knew it was the afternoon train from Dublin, 
and felt convinced that it could have encountered no obstruction at Sallius — as 
I was led to expect it would. However, I was not mueh disconcerted, by 
the knowledge of this failure — although I felt somewhat disappointed at 
its occurrence. 

In another half hour or so, I was overtaken by a party of men, com- 
ing briskly towards the town. They moderated their pace as they bade me 
"good night!" and, on my returning their salutation, they inquired where 
I had come from? When I told them "from Dublin, " they asked when I 
left it, and how matters were progressing there? — one of them adding - 
"but sure yourself isn't a Dubliu-boy; — you don't speak like 'em!" I as- 
sured him he was right in his conjecture, and told him where 1 belonged 
to. That satisfied them, and before asking for further information they 
informed me that they were members of the " Corinac MacCuliuan Club"' of 
Cashel ; tnat they were after cui ting down a lot of ash trees for pike- 
handle? in a plantation some miles back — for that they expected to be called 
upon at any hour now. I. in turn, told them all I kuew of the state of 
aft'airs in Dublin, and that I had business at Counsellor Doheny's. On our 
arrival in the town, two of them accompanied me to the house — saying 
they were personally well known to the Counsellor and Mrs. Doheny; that 
the former was -not then at home, but was hourly expected, and that they 
would introduce me to the lady. This they accordingly did, and then cour- 
teously bade us "good-night!" 

I explained my reasons for calling at her house to Mrs. Doheny, and 
informed her of the state of affaiis in Dublin when I left it that forenoon 
— and of my surmise regarding the failure to obstruct the railway at Sallius. 
She, in turn, informed me that Mr. Eeilly had not yet arrived — that it was 
possible he had gone first to Kilkenny, in hopes of joining Smith O'Brien 
there — that she believed her husband was, at that time, with the latter gen- 
tleman — and that she was expecting both of them to arrive in Cashel ai 



"FOLLOWING THE LEADER." 261 

any moment. She added that, from information she received, she believed 
the ''authorities" were expecting- them too — but whether they would attempt 
to arrest them under the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, remained 
to be seen — and probably depended ou whether the gentlemen came alone 
or accompanied by an armed escort — that either event was possible. 

I then said that — I was confident Devin Eeilly would soon arrive in 
Cashel — and possibly in company of Mr. Doheny and Mr. O'Brien; that, 
from what she told me, it was essential that they should get timely warn- 
ing — should they arrive unaccompanied during the course of the night — so as 
to avoid the chance of being ambushed by the authorities under cover of dark- 
ness; that as they were most likely to come by the Kilkenny road, (which 
passed by her house,) I would take post in the field opposite, and watch 
through the night for their arrival. 

Mrs. Doheny approved of the plan; and, leaving the "pike" in her 
charge for the night, I proceeded to my post of observation. 

The position was well situated for my purpose, for the field — (which 
was that contiguous to "Mary's Abbey,") — sloped gently up from the 
road — a view of which it commanded for a considerable distance, in the 
direction of Kilkenuy. It had, also, another advantage, — it was a newly-mown 
meadow — thickly studded with hay-cocks. Selecting the most available of 
these — one which immediate!? fronted the entrance to Doheny's house, and 
the venerable "Bock" — crowned with its grand tiara — commemorative of 
Erin's ancient glory — looming sublimely against the star-lit northern sky — 
I seated myself beside it in such a position as to be unobserved from any 
direction, while I had an unobstructed view to my front and right. There, 
alone with the stars — and my own thoughts — I passed my first night in the 
open air. 

My medi ations during this lonely vigil must remain unrecorded for the 
present. They took a wide range. They pierced the Past, into the pre-his- 
toric ages — as I gazed abstractedly on that majestic pile — which was a 
''sacred spot" in the eyes of my Pagan forefathers, for more than a thou- 
sand years before '"Holy Patrick*' invested it with a new halo of sanctity 
— when he baptised Muuster's first Christian King — and blessed the "Spread- 
ing Tree of Gold" — and its fruitful branches — through succeeding ages. 

Sur<jl} r , these were subjects which, under the circumstances, might well 
occupy the thoughts of a young Irish enthusiast — imbued with the spirit of 
their past associa ions — during the fleeting hours of a short summer's night. 

Yet the ac ual Present, and the vigilance it exacted — claimed its due 
share of attention, and kept me "wide-awake" — mentally and physicallv. 
until the "Morning-Star" — rising like a beacon-light above the crest of 



262 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

Sliave-na-mon — heralded the dawn. Then, stretching my stiffened limbs, and 
rubbing my winking eye-lids — wearied from two night's sleeplessness — I 
wended my way to the road-side for the purpose ol making my morning 
ablutions at a "well" which I knew to be in the vicinity of the ruined 
Abbey. 

While engaged in this refreshing occupation, I heard the sound of wheels 
approaching from the direction of Kilkenny, and, in another minute, a side- 
car was a-breast of me on which I recognized my expected i ie id. Devin 
Reilly, and with him two other gentlemen, Thomas Matthew Halpin, and 
Maurice Richard Leyne. With the Secretary of the Confederation I had 
been on terms of intimacy for months previously, but Mr. Leyne, — being 
a recent recruit to the National ranks, — I only knew by sight and reputa- 
tion until I was introduced to him that morning by Mr. Reilly. 

After our first warm greeting, Reilly inquired how I came to be there 
alone, and at such an hour? I briefly explained matters. Halpin, who 
seemed very nervous, explained the cause of his anxiety to me — by stating 
that he had in his possession a letter for Smith O'Brien, just arrived from 
America, which, if found on his person by the authorities, might lead to 
serious consequences, and which he was. therefore, most desirous to deliver 
to Mr. O'Brien, so that it might be read and then destroyed, as he had 
little doubt but lhat its contents were of a compromising nature. 

I tried to calm his excitement by the assurance that "if an attempt was 
made to arrest him in Cashel, with that letter in his possession, it would 
be promptly resisted, and that, then, he should ' fight like the devil ' if he 
wished to escape hanging." 

He (Jdn'c seem to be much relieved by my consolatory efforts, however, 
for he again reiterated that he "wished he was rid of the letter — and the 
responsibility its possession entailed on him!" 

I could not thoroughly sympathize with his feelings then — when the 
events of an hour might commit us all to a conflict from which there was 
no retreating; but nevertheless, - 1 respected his high moral courage and 
that devotion to duty which impelled him to encounter, unflinchingly, pros- 
pective dangers clearly visible to him, though unseen or unheeded by me. 

Mr. Reilly asked me to show them the way to Doheny's house, and I 
accompanied them there, and, having introduced Mr. Reilly to Mrs. Doheny, 
I left to seek my companions — promising to return in an hour for instruc- 
tions relative to our future Kjovements. 

While on my way to Ryan's Hotel, I met my two companions, and, 
after breakfasting, I returned with them to the vicinity of Doheny's house; 
I posted them as sentinels on the " Rock " Avhile I entered the dwelling to 



-FOLLOWING THE LEADER.' 263 

consult Devin Reilly — aud get my '• pike " from its noble-hearted care- 
taker. 

Mr. Eeilly told me that if, in a few hours, he did not meet O'Brien 
in Cashel, he would set out for Carrick in hopes of meeting him and 
Meagher in that town, or in its vicinity. He instructed me to proceed di- 
rectly to Cappoquin — (not entering the town till after nightfall,) —to com- 
municate with a trusty Confederate there — (Hugh W. Collender — with whom 
he knew I had kept up a correspondence during my sojourn in Dublin;) — 
instruct him to prepare our townsmen for a prompt rising — as soon as 
the j 7 got orders to that eft'ect through either myself or any of my two com- 
rades — and, having done so — proceed by the shortest route to Carrick — where 
we were to meet him on the next evening, and receive final instructions 
according to the plans adopted by the leaders. 

1 promised to carry out his instructions and we parted: — (to meet not 
on the next day — or in Carrick — but, eignteen mouths afterwards — in New 
York.) 

We reached the vicinity of Cappoquin early in the evening, and, wait- 
ing till night-fall, I sent in Bob. Ward for Hugh Collender, and after repeat- 
ing Devin Keilly's instructions to him, the three of us resumed our journey 
towards Carrick. 

However, before we were two miles on our way I was so overcome by 
fatigue and want of sleep, that we were compelled to pass the night in a 
grove by the road-side — sleeping on the bare ground. It took us all the 
next day to traverse the range of the Cummeraghs, and it was quite dark 
when we arrived in the vicinity of Carrick. 

CARRICK-ON-SUIR. 

On our way down the road to Carrick-Beg, we met an intelligent coun- 
tryman of whom we learned that Smith O'Brien, Meagher, and other lead- 
ing Confederates had been in Carrick-on-Suir on the previous Tuesday, (July 
25th;) that the day had been the most exciting ever seen in that town — 
the club-men of both town and countrv — with women, young girls, and 
boys — filling the streets, cheering and shouting that the ''Day had come at 
last ! '' and calling on the leaders that " Now was the time to begin if they 
wan'ed to fight while they had the People ready and willing to follow 
them, in spite of open foes or half-hearted friends ! " 

Why the leaders did not taue the people at their word, our informant 
did not understand; he only knew that ihey left Carrick the same evening 
— to the great disappointment of the people, and that, from all ne could 



264 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

since learn, no one knew what their future plans were, or where, themselves 
were then to be found. 

This man's statement was corroborated by old friends of Bob. Ward's, 
with whom we lodged that night. They gave us many graphic details of 
the proceedings in the streets, and at a stormy in-door meeting, where 
O'Brien and his Confederate Leaders met the local Club Officers, and other 
prominent town's-folk, to discuss the course to be adopted. 

However, as the story of that eventful day has been much more lucidly 
told by two of the principal actors in the thrilling scenes — Thomas Francis 
Meagher and John O'Mahony, I prefer giving their account of what occurred 
to that which we heard from the less prominent participators in that mem- 
orable exhibition of popular ieeliug. 

Looking from the window of the meeting-room, Meagher gazed upon a 
scene which remained for ever photographed on his memory, and- of which 
he has left, in the following vivid picture, an indelible tribute to the fidel- 
ity, heroism, and passionate devotion to Ireland and Liberty, of the men 
and women of that typical town of u Gallant Tipperary ! " 

SCEXE IX CARRICK — JULY 25, 1848. 

By Thomas Francis Meagher. 

"A torrent of human beings, rushing through lanes and narrow streets; 
surging and boiling against the white basemeuts that hemmed it in; whirl- 
ing in dizzy circles, and tossing up its dark waves, with sounds of wrath, 
v» ngeauce, and defiance; clenched hands, darting high above the black and 
broken surface, and waving to and fro, with the wildest confusion, in the 
air; eyes, red with rage and desperation, starting and flashing upwards through 
the billows of the flood; long • tresses of hair — disordered, drenched, and 
tangled — streaming in the roaring wind of voices, and, as in a shipwreck, 
rising and falling with the foam; wild, half-stifled, passionate, frantic "prayers 
of hope; invocations in sobs, and thrilling wailings. and piercing cries, to the 
God of heaven, His Saints, and the Virgin Mary; challenges to the foe; 
curses on the Bed Tlag; scornful, exulting delirious defiance of Death; all 
wild as the winter gusts at sea. yet as black and fearful too; this is what 
I then beheld — these the sounds I heard — such the dream which passed 
before me ! 

" It was the Revolution, if we had accepted it. 

" Why it was not accepted, I fear, I cannot with sufficient accuracy 
explain." 



JOHN O'MAHONYS PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 265 

The annexed account of the political situation in Carrick and its vicinity, 
at that time, will, to some extent, enable the reader to comprehend the 
question which Mr. Meagher did not undertake to solve. It is extracted 
from a MSS. of John O'Mahony's, bequeathed by him to me, and never 
before published. The MSS. is entitled a Personal Narrative of My Connec- 
tion With the Attempted Rising of 1848." It is, by far, the most accurate 
and minutely detailed account of the events which transpired in the Valley 
of the Suir, during the last week of July, 1848, which has hitherto been 
given to the public. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

EXTRACT FROM JOHN O'HAHONY'S PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 

What fate is thine, unhappy Isle, 

That even the trusted few 
Should pay thee back with hate and guile, 

When most they should be true; 
'T was not thy strength or spirit failed, 

And tnose who bled for thee, 
And loved thee truly, have not quailed, 

acushla gal machkee. 

Michael Dohent. 

" During the early months of '4S, I did not take part in the political 
movements that agitated Ireland. Before Mitchel's trial I was slowly recov- 
ering from a severe illness, and could do little more than sympatize with 
the movements of the Young Ireland party — which I did with all my 
soul. 

"Even after that event had aroused the South, I kept away from any 
public adhesion to the party. I wished to wait until the time for action 
had come, when I made up my mind to take to the Gaulty Mountains, and 
raise the old followers of my family along that range. 

From this purpose I was dissuaded by the Rev. Mr. Power,* curate of 



*Rev. Patrick Power was a native of Cappoquln, Co. Waterford, of which place he died 
Parish Priest. He was fourth brother in the sacred ministry of the Most Rev. John Power, 
late Bishop of Waterford. He was gifted with literary acquirements of a high order, and 



266 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



the parish where I lived, (Ballyneill,) who wished to establish a club in 
his locality, of which he would have me take the direction. I did so, and 
with the Rev. gentleman's help, I soon succeeded in establishing a rather 
respectable body of men, and their arming was goi^g on with vigor. 

Out of this sprung other rural clubs, all in the same district, of which 
I had the management, and our ramifications were extending widely through 
the district of which Carrick was the centre. 

"In Carrick there were several clubs established, all under the patron- 
age of the Rev. Mr. Byrne, C. C, of that town, who was the great ori- 
ginator and chief promotor of the movement in that quarter. 

Under his auspices a ' Central Board,' composed of the Presidents of the 
various clubs, was appointed to sit in Carrick, of which Dr. A. O'Ryan, of 
that town, was elected chairman. 

"Of this 'Board of Directors* Father Byrne, through Dr. O'Ryan and 
others of its most influential members, held, though indirectly, the chief 
direction. I firmly believe that no serious measure was ever adopted by 
that body without his advice and sane ion. 

"Thus, in South Tipperary, at least, the originators of the movement 
were priests. They publicly told the people to form clubs, to make pikes, 
and many a one proclaimed from tne altar that he would be with the people 
and lead them on the day of action. 

"Thus they (these Young Ireland priests,) acquired an importance in the 
movement that they otherwise could not possess. 

"The older priests opposed the movement a little at first, but such was 
the impetus given to the revolutionary organization by MitcheFs deportation, 
that their opposition was soon silenced. Silent they remained for a few weeks, 
and their younger and more sanguine brethren had a clear field for some 
weeks previous to the attempted rising. 

'•Had not the Young Ireland leaders calculated upon the cordial and 
active cooperation of those clerical revolutionists, they never should have 
attempted to raise the people after the fashion they did. As it was, they 
were the main hinge upon which the whole movement turned. 

"While the w Old Ireland' priests were thus standing upon their high 



was the author of the " Moral and Doctrinal Catechism," in lour volumes. He was aleo 
author of a beautiful translation of Orslni's " Life of the .Blessed Virgin Mary." 

John O'Mahony bears testimony to Father Power's unswerving fidelity to the national 
cause — through all its vicissitudes — in 1848. The people amongst whom he was born, know 
that he was devoted 10 the same principles through all his after life, and they reverence 
his memory alike for his patriotism and for his piety. 



JOHN OMAHONY S PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 267 

eminences, looking down upon the daily progress of the organization, and 
while their Young Ireland brethren were loudly sounding the ' tocsin of 
war,' the repeated arrests of the club-men in Dublin were exasperating the 
public mind. Those of Mr. Meagher in Waterford, and Doheny in Cashel, 
seemed to bring popular excitement to a climax. Men asked i how long 
were those arrests to be submitted to?' 'When or where was resistance to 
commence?' 

'' At this time it was resolved by the clubs of South Tipperary, (and I 
understood everywhere,) that no more arrests should be allowed to be made. 
That resistance was to be made when and wherever such arrest was attempted. 
I cannot vouch for this resolve haviug emanated from Headquarters, but it 
was well understood in all our clubs about Carrick. 

" While things were in this state Mr. Meagher and Mr. Doheny held 
their meeting on Sliabh-na-Mou, alter which they entered Carrick and held 
another meeting there. The club-men met them in military array some miles 
from town, and the whole country was in a blaze of enthusiasm. We all 
determined to fight sooner than let them be again arrested. No such attempt 
was made, though the town swarmed with military and police, who, on this 
occasion, were strictly confined to their barracks. 

"Next morning, (it was Monday,) I was early roused from my bed by 
a messenger from Carrick, calling on me to arm my men and enter the 
town, for that the arrests had commenced. I did so, had my club-men 
assembled, and we marched upon the town. At its entrance we were met 
by Father Byrne, Mr. O'Donnell and Mr. Feehan. His reverence thanked me 
and my club for our prompt attendance on tne call — said that the necessity 
for fighting was over — for that day, as the magistrates had yielded the pris- 
oners—terrified at the determined muster of the clubs. On the men mur- 
muring at returning without seeing the town, he told them that the day had 
not come yet ; that no more arrests of Club-men would be submitted to 
without fighting, not even of the humblest member; witness that day's pro- 
ceedings ; that the time was coming fast that he would be with them him- 
self; and he ended by saying: '• My heart, my heart is panting for that 
day ! " 

" This, as I recollect it, is the substance of his speech. The phrase is 
given in his exact words." 

" I dwell on this circumstance to show the means by which this gen- 
tleman and others became indispensable to the movement. 

" Better they had never come into it. 

" It was clearly understood amongst the club-men, lay and clerical, that 
the signal for the rising should be the attempt of the Government to make 



MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



political arrests. That the fight was to commence, when and wherever such 
an attempt was to be made. Father Byrne's declaration to the assembling 
clubs on the morning of the proposed rescue, left no doubt upon the people 
of South Tipperary's mind on this head. 

" A week had nearly passed over us since that day of muster. It was 
passed by us all in most active preparations. Sentinels were placed upon 
nearly all the smith's forges. Pikes were made in every hamlet, and night 
and clay the anvils rang the call to arms. There were but few in our locality 
that could buy iron for a pike-head, who were unprovided with the imple- 
ment. 

" On Sunday morning, (a week after the Sliabh-na-mon meeting,) a mes- 
senger arrived at Ballyneill. — I foget whether from Father Byrne of Carrick, 
or from Dr. O'Ryan, — to tell our club-men of the siu- pension of the Habeas 
Corpus Act. He looked somewhat more neivous than the occasion then seemed 
to demand, considering the resolve we had already made as to arrests, and 
knowing that many, if not all of us, were already in the power of British 
law, and that we might be taken up any day without the trouble of that 
idle formality. 

" It struck me, from the man's manner, that there was some dismay 
caused by the news amongst the leaders in Carrick. and that something was 
going wrong there, notwithstanding the bold resolve we had so lately adop- 
ted. It soon passed from my mind in the hurry of organizing and schooling 
my own men; nor did I set much importance upon the part some of the 
Carrick leaders might act: not dreaming that circumstances could make thtir 
conduct so very important to the movement. 

"On Monday morning I met Messrs. O'Brien. Meagher and Doheny on 
their way to Carrick. O'Brien asked al»out the feeling in case he and the 
other leaders should be arrested? Would the people submit to it? What 
did they think of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act? 

"I answered him by mentioning the resolution as to arrests that was 
so well understood by us all, — told what happened on that day week, when 
some few little boys, of no importance to the cause, had been taken up. 
Being resolved to fight for the humblest member of our clubs, we surely 
would not suffer the arrest of him and his friends, who were so important 
to the movement. 

"He said he was going to see what the men of Carrick were prepared 
to do. I told him that I knew their mind upon the matter, — suggested his 
waiting until I had collected a body of armed men to attend him into town, 



JOHN O'MAHOXTS PEBSOXAL NABRATIVE. 269 

— which he declined, as premature. Said he would seud out for me if the 
occasion required a muster. 

"He left me, and I returned to my pike-making. 

" Impatient to know what was doing in Carrick, I soon left off, and 
rode into town. I found there the greatest excitement and enthusiasm. 
Some thousands of men thronged the streets, and among them all I saw- 
no sign of going back on their former resolve. They were unarmed, however, 
not yet knowing what their leaders wished them to do. 

"Having forced a passage through the crowd to the house of Doctor 
Furcell, where O'Brien and his companions had stopped, there I found 
assembled the principal members of the Carrick "Central Board" — Messrs. 
O'Kyan, Purcell, Eivers, O Donuell, Cavanagh, &c. There appeared nothing 
but doubt and dismay amongst these men. They seemed confounded at the 
magnitude of the step they were called on to take, and a very manifest 
desire to get Mr. O'Brien out of town appeared to sway the great majority 
of them. 

"One man asked the gentlemen — 'Why they had come to that little 
town to commence the rising? Was Carrick able to fight the British empire! 
Were they — the leaders — rejected by everywhere else?" Some time was 
consumed asking these and other equally seasonable questions, which Mr. 
O'Brien listened to with evident disappointment and disgust. 

"When the meeting became a little less tumultuous, Mr. O'Brien told 
them that * he came to Carrick in preference to any other town, because he 
understood the people were better organized and armed there than in most 
other places. That the thing should commence somewhere, and that Carrick 
seemed to be the place for such commencement.' He said that he l did not 
want to engage Carrick single-hand against England. That he wanted from them 
a body of six hundred young men, armed with guns, and well provided with am- 
munition, and having sufficient means for self support, to guard him and his 
■companions while they were raising the country "* 

" For this no man was prepared, not anticipating any such demand. No 



♦The passage I have italicized affords a singular instance of Mr. O'Brien's want of 
comprehension of the resources oe the Tipperary people, and, also, of what the Immediate 
and inevitable consequences would be of such a muster of armed men apptarlng in a 
*' Proclaimed distiict " — the march of ail the British forces in the vicinity against them, 
and the inauguration of War— without a day's delay. O'Mahony was well aware of this, 
when making the thoughtful suggestion he di — in defence of O'Brien's extraordinary 
proposition; but as he believed lu lighting at once— this method of opening the campaign 
appeared to him as suitable as any other — under the circumstances. 



270 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

President present could say how many such men his club could afford. Two 
men present volunteered to form part of such a band. The others were 
mute. 

"After much talk, I finally suggested, that, as the revolutionary leaders 
had done us the compliment of coming into our town to make the first 
appeal to the country, and as we were not prepared to give them the guard 
they required at once, we were, at least, bound to see what we could do 
towards making up such a guard. In order to do so we should keep them 
in town and defend them, if necessary, during the coming night. On the 
next morning we could attend them in full force to the next town, and 
they would be thus enabled to make up the body as they went along. 

"We had no right to ask these gentlemen why they called upon Car- 
rick. Our own boastings brought them to us. That the call was not prema- 
ture every man present knew. That for the past fortnight our minds were 
fully made up to suffer no more arrests, but to begin the fight on the first 
attempt made to effect oiie. Having declared ourselves willing to fight foi 
any member of our body and proclaimed it loudly, what right had we to 
complain if the chiefs had taken us at our woid? We should not have 
promised unless we could perform. The movement was ail up if the leaders 
were suffered to be arrested now! 

"Many agreed, or seemed to agree with me, and we finally all agreed 
that Messrs. O'Brien, Meagher and Doheny should remain in town that 
night; that the country clubs should be summoned round them in arms; 
that they should bivouac on the outskirts of the town all night, while the 
townsmen kept watch within, and that any hostile attempt from the garri- 
son should be resisted. 

" Messrs. O'Brien and Meagher then addressed the impatient crowd in 
the street, who enthusiastically promised to die in their defence if necessary. 
After this I left the meeting for the distinct purpose of mustering the 
country clubs. 

"Not one present could have been ignorant of the fact, when, before 
leaving them, I returned to the room three times after mounting my horse, 
as I heard noisy discussion springing up after I left each time. These sev-' 
eral times I asked them were they about changing their minds'? and each 
time I was answered in the negative. 

"Mr. Brieu and his companions were to remain in town. 

"One thing struck me as remarkable at this meeting. Father Byrne 
was not to be found. The day after which his heart panted had not come, 
It was, however, principally composed of his creatures — professional men, 
comfortable farmers and shop-keepers — who would do nothing without his 



JOHN O'MAEONTS PEBSONAL NARRATIVE. 271 

sanation. Of some of them I heard or saw no more until their ''miraculous 
escapes " to FraDce or America were proclaimed by the public press. Some 
of them I know to have left the meeting that evening after I departed, 
and never drew bridle until they put the sea between themselves and the 
enemy. 

"But I anticipate. 

" I went off to muster the country clubs from the Tipperary side of 
the Suir. I sent trusty messengers to those Presidents who were too dis- 
tant from me to see personally, and visited some others. I then visited 
the chief men of my own club. Everywhere I found enthusiasm and con- 
fidence. 

"Having appointed seven o'clock as the hour we were to meet at our 
parish chapel, I went home to dine. It was then six. I was tired, but 
full of confidence in the prospect before us. Dinner over, at seven o'clock 
I got to horse again, but at my gate I met a messenger from Dr. O'Ryan 
— President of our Central Board, (I may call him our Colonel,) — say- 
ing that 'those for whose protection we were to meet had left Carrick, 
and that the men were not to be brought into town.' This placed me in 
an embarrassing position, not only with my own club-men, but with those 
distant clubs to whom I had sent messengers. 

" I went to my Club notwithstanding, and found them assembled to the 
number of four hundred. Among them they had eighty guns and a goodly 
muster of pikes. They were all armed with some weapon. 

" I was spared the telling them the disheartening news. Father Morrissy, 
their parish priest, who had been reconnoiteriug in Carrick all day, had 
been with them on his way home. He told them that all was peace again. 
That O'Brien left, &c. He, in fine, sought to disperse them. They refused 
to be dispersed b}^ him, however, but steadily waited for me. 

" I had to confirm the statement as to the departure of the leaders, 
hut to disabuse them as to the fight's being 'postponed for a fortnight,' (as 
they were told). I said it was possible we might be called out again to- 
morrow. Having them all assembled, I got them into military array, and 
kept marching them until late in the night, and then sent them home in 
much better heart than I was myself, not knowing what the morrow might 
bring. 

" I then went to pay a parting visit to a friend whom I left at twelve 
o'clock. 

"I heard some firing and rode towards it. Found it proceeded from the 
Graugemockler men, en route for Carrick, with a Mr. Coughlan, their Pres- 
ident, at their head. They were at least one thousand strong. They had 



272 MEM01BS OF GEN THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHEB. 

met Dr. O'Ryan's (or I may call him Father Byrne's) messenger, but they 
would not be turned back until they heard what I had to say ou the 
subject. 

•• I had the disagreeable task of confirming the command they received 
and endeavoring to do away with its evil effects. 

'• I saw them home, and hoped to have kept them still expectant and 
eager for the fight. 

" It was now morning, and I lay down to rest a lit ■ le previous to the 
coining day that I hoped would be an eventful one. Little time, however, 
had I for repose. The club leaders, or rather the Faction Chiefs, from the. 
more distant parishes, came pouring in on me, asking why they had been 
called to arms, and why, having been so, they were countermanded when 
already on their march? From the reports I then, and afterwards got, of 
the numbers collected on the different roads radiating round Carrick, and 
comparing them with what I saw myself of the two parishes mustered on 
the road that passed by my place, I have no doubt on my mind that between 
seven and eijiht o'clock on that night there were twelve thousand men, at 
least, (I made it at fifteen thousand.) on march for Carrick-on-Suir. Enough, 
surely, to commence the Revolution with — at short notice. 

"Thus was a great, and, as subsequent events proved, a fatal check re- 
ceived at the very outset. Many influential farmers who came out on that day 
never moved afterwards — doubting the capacity of their leaders, they ap- 
peared terrified at the step they had taksn. 

U A little after dawn Doheny arrived at my house. After talking over 
the sad mistake of the day before, we rode out to see its effect upon the 
people. In a ride of some twenty miles round the skirts of the Sliabh-na- 
mon hills, we found the people still busy preparing. Scarcely a house did 
we see that there was not a pike displayed: everywhere men were fitting 
them on handles, or sharpening them ou the door flags. 

•'Crowds flocked around us wherever we stopped, asking for news of 
O'Brien and his movements — of which we could tell them nothing. All we 
could say was, that, disappointed in Carrick, he went to raise the flag else- 
where. We told them to hold themselves in readiness, as we were in ex- 
pectation of being called on to join him at once. 

"This satisfied them. The work of preparation again went on, and the 
forges were again set to work. We remarked, that of all the men we met 
that morning, but one man spoke against the rising, and he was soon 
silenced. 

" On our return we met Meagher at my house. He told us O'Brien 



JOHN OMAhONTS PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 273 

was in Cashel, that he was himself going to Waterford to bring up his 
club — some one thousand strong. A club, — if I understand rightly, — pledged 
to follow him at a moment's notice. I was to protect it in passing the Suir, 
with what forces I could collect. 

" Doheny and I saw him across the Suir, and into a cab in the woods of 
Coolnamuck. Doheny left me shortly after, and I rode into Carrick to see 
either Father Byrne or Dr. O'Ryan. I saw the latter gentleman, but could 
not see the former. From him I learned that himself, Byrne, and all the 
local leaders were against the movement, as premature. — That Byrne would 
have nothing to do with it. — That it should be put off at least a fortnight, 
until the harvest ripened. — That O'Brien must be mad. 

" Upon leaving him I met many of the mechanics who told me that they 
were ready at a call. Not to mind Father Byrne and Co., but to call on 
them myself. They could by no means comprehend why it was that O'Brien 
left on the previous evening, and said — 'why did he not appeal directly to 
the men of the people?' They blamed Byrne, O'Ryau, Rivers &c, and 
promised to be prepared for the next call, and not to mind presidents or 
priests. 

" I wa3 occupied all the rest of the day receiving men coming for in- 
structions, and giving them and myself change of work, for the very un- 
fortunate turn things seemed to be taking. — Preparing to cooperate with 
Meagher and the advancing Waterford men. 

" Meagher arrived alone He said, that on coming to Waterford at night, 
he had sent for the chief men of his club, and. (I believe) Father Tracy. 
The men came to him, Tracy did not. On his asking them to march, they 
said ' they could not without Father Tracy's advice and consent. — Too late 
then to look for it, or to muster the club-men. — Meagher not encouraged 
to wait.' This Tracy, I afterwards understood, was the Byrne of Water- 
ford — Primum Mobile and chief adviser of the clubs, though not personally 
presiding over any club himself. (Meagher does not seem to blame this 
man. 1 do — from the circumstance that his conduct on this first appeal to 
him was exactly the counterpart of Byrne's). 

" It seemed as if the opponents of the organization had planned to break 
it up by means of those very men, who had contributed much to spread 
it, and who in so doing had gained tne entire confidence of the fighting 
portion of the people. Carrick-men have told me, in excusing Byrne, that 
he had been forbidden by his superior, a few days previous, to meddle fur- 
ther in the matter. If so, he must have also got orders to allay the storm 
he had helped to raise. No man in so good a position to do so." 



2/4 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHEB. 



" FOLLOWING THE LEADER." 

(CONTINUED.) 

The foregoing narrative, by the principal actor in the events which 
transpired during that memorable week in Carrick and its vicinity, comes 
down to the date of my arrival in that town. What took place under my 
own observation, during the two succeeding days, I shall now relate : 

Though much fatigued when I retired to rest on Thursday night, I en- 
joyed but little sleep; for, all through the night the whole population seemed 
to be on the streets and under considerable excitement; while, at frequent 
intervals, a bugle-call announced the presence of some military attachment, 
whose steady tramp could be readily distinguished among the promiscuous 
voices that, uninteimittingly, filled the air. From the few remarks I could 
hear passed — on the street and in the house, — I understood that the sol- 
diers encamped at Besborough (three miles below Carrick,) had been marched 
into town, but what their object was, none .seemed to comprehend. The 
following morning threw some light on the question. 

At an early hour the streets of Carrick were occupied by strong detach- 
ments of military and police. The soldiers were of all arms — horse, foot, 
and artillery. Two pieces of cannon were placed in positions commanding 
both the Main street and that leading to the bridge over the Suir to Car- 
rick-Beg. Behind the artillery strong bodies of cavalry were posted. The 
infantry, in small detachments, occupied all the street-crossings as far as I 
could discern from the door of my lodging-house. An ominous and unna- 
tural silence among the onlookers of those morning preparations, contrasted 
strangely with the turmoil of the previous nigh<-. 

After some two hours of anxious suspense, the inhabitants of Carrick 
became aware of the cause of this warlike display. A search for arms had, 
all that morning, been carried on in Carrick-Beg — on the Waterford side of 
the river, and the larger town was occupied, to prevent its rebellious in- 
mates from interfering with the legalized marauders. It soon became appa- 
rent to friends and foes, that the result of the raid was not commensurate 
with the preparations it entailed; for, in the midst of a dense column of 
police, — marching solemnly up Bridge street, there appeared a common care 
containing about a half dozen pitch-forks, and, conspicuous among them — a 
veritable "pike." 

The spectacle had a surprisingly marked effect on the hitherto scowling 



"FOLLOWING THE LEADER." 275 

countenances of the people. A smile of triumphant scorn and derision was 
observable on the faces of the still silent men; while most of the women, 
and all the girls, gave unrestrained vent to their feelings, in language suited 
to their individual styles of expression — from the mock sympathetic to the 
bitterly sarcastic. 

One young damsel told the crest-fallen " Peelers " that " after all their 
spying and hunting, there was as many pikes in that little town over, as, 
if ' the word ' was given, would drive every one of them headlong into the 
Suir!" The probable truth of the volunteered information did not tend to 
make its recipients more pleased with the gentle " Informer," — if one could 
judge by their scowling looks. 

The uncertainty as to what might next happen created a feeling of un- 
easiness among the business portion of the community, one effect of which 
was the desire to convert their spare bank-notes into hard cash, and a con- 
sequent run on the two banks in the town. This circumstance affected my- 
self and comrades personally, in as much as our financial resources consisted 
of a solitary pound-note, which we could not get changed to provide our 
breakfasts, — even the banks refused to accommodate us as it was not one of 
their own denomination — and they could not foretell the probable extent of 
the " run' ' upon themselves. 

As the nearest "Provincial Bank of Ireland" office was that of Water- 
ford, I bethought me of asking Father Byrne to change the " note." I was 
going to see him, in any case, as the most likely person to give me infor- 
mation as to where I might find those we were in search of. I knew him 
by sight, as well as by reputation, but was not personally known to him. 

I had no difficulty in finding him, and, on my telling him who I was, 
and what brought me to Carrick — together with the predicament we were 
in for "change," he, at once, accommodated me iu the latter respect, but, at 
the same time, advised me to abandon the revolutionary moverrent (as it 
could not succeed.) and return home at once. He added, that O'Brien and 
Meagher had been in Carrick, a few days previously, and that he thought 
O'Brien must be " mad." 

From his manuer I felt that he used the term in its fullest significance, 
and was astonished, — though not so much at the assertion itself, as at its 
coming from such a quarter. Of course, I thought Father Byrne was egre- 
giously mistaken, and that the particularly exciting circumstances under 
which his first interview with Mr. O'Brien took place, must have deceived 
him as to that gentleman's real mental characteristics, — among which cool- 
ness, prudence, and self-control were most prominent. I, however, made no 



276 MEMOIRS OF GEX. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



comment on that portion of his argument, but declined to follow his kiudly- 
o-iven advice — asking him "what grounds had he now for despondency as 
to the success of the revolutionary movement, that did not exist a few 
weeks before, when he was its most enthusiastic and efficient propagandist 
in thatf district? 

To this he replied — that he "could not explain his change of opinion, 
but that, as matters were then, he could see nothing but ultimate disaster 
to the devoted men who persevered in upholding what he believed to be a 
hopeless cause." 

60 ended our interview. We parted with mutual good wishes, but neither 
of us convinced as to the propriety of the other's course. 

Finding no clue in Carrick as to the whereabouts of any of the promi- 
nent national leaders, we determined to proceed to Waterford on the next 
day, hoping to rind some intelligence of Meagher in his native city. On 
Saturday morning we, accordingly, set out by way of road on the left, 
(or Kilkenny') side of the Suir. On passing Besborough Demesne we ob- 
served that it wa* occupied by a camp of Infantry. A sentinel stood 
at the gate wearing the uniform of the 3d Buffs. As this Regiment bad 
been lately stationed in Dublin, and had gained some notoriety there for 
its demonstrative Irish feelings — we engaged in conversation with the sentinel 
— who appeared to be almost exhausted from fatigue — or want of sleep. 

His unmistakable Munster accent, and Celtic countenance, led us to re- 
mark on the exploits of his regiment some weeks before in an "argument" 
with the 72d Highlanders at " Molloy's Free-aud-Easy " in Queen street, 
Dublin. It was enough to open his heart. He explained the cause of his 
tired appearance by telling us that — for the past three nights — the sol- 
diers in camp had been marched to Waterford, and marched back to their 
quarters in the day-time — for the purpose of impressing the country people 
on their line of march with the opinion that fresh troops were daily being 
landed from England. He also told us, (what we were cognizant of already,) 
that two-thirds of the regiment were true Irishmen — and were ready to 
prove it — when called upon. 

(Many of them did prove their allegiance to their native land, two 
months afterwards, by their presence in O'Mahony's camp on the Commeragh 
hills —fraternizing with the "rebels.") 

Fully satisfied that the national cause had nothing to apprehend from 
the troops encamped at Besborough, we proceeded on our journey in buoy- 
ant spirits. Neither on the road, — nor in the villages of Piltown and Mon- 
coin, through which we passed — did we notice any appearance of excite- 



" FOLLOWING THE LEADER." 277 

ment — on the contrary, people seemed to be unusually reserved and ill at 
ease. There was something uncongenial in their manner that contrasted un- 
javorably with the open-hearted candor of the Waterford aud Tipperary 
people, and we were glad when we crossed the bridge over the Suir, and 
found ourselves once more in Munster. 

THE CITY OF WATERFORD, 
Saturday, July 29th. 

It was about 2 P. m., when we arrived in Waterford. Proceeding down 
the noble Quay, we found it studded for its entire length with groups of 
stalwart, dark-browed men. Among them were many " Carrick Boatmen'' — 
easily recognized by their heavy pilot-cloth jackets and peculiar head-gear. 
A great portion of the others seemed to belong to the class of men usually 
employed about the shipping; but the mechanics of tbe city were also well 
represented. But very few were engaged at work of any kind; while the 
eyes of many were, scowlingly, directed to a row of five war-vessels, of 
various classes, that were moored at convenient distances from one another, 
in the middle of the river, with their broadsides to the city. 

As most of these on-lookers belonged to the " Men of no Property " 
class — the possibility of their city being bombarded by those foreign pirates 
gave them but little concern. In fact, judging from their comments on the 
subject, delivered in our presence, a few moments later. — they felt that such 
action would chiefly damage the upholders of British rule — both in person 
and property, — and that it would also compel the "well-to-do neutrale" to 
take one side or the other, by burning them out of their comfortable "free- 
holds," at short notice. As they truthfully remarked: — "The men who meant 
to fight would leave the city, any how, — for no one was fool enough to 
think it could be held without artillery." 

Before we had gone far down the Quay, we were accosted by a mem- 
ber of one of those gatherings. He enquired — "who we were; where we had 
come from; and what our business was in Waterford?" The man's manner 
and tone was civil but determined, and — as we felt — justified by the circum- 
stances. I soon satisfied him as to all he wanted to know in our regard; 
but the mention of "Cappoquin" as my native place, was in itself sufficient 
to gain the full confidence of himself and comrades. At that moment a 
Carrick-Boatman joined the group, who vouched for the truth of my state- 
ment, — as he had met us the day previous in Carrick and knew our story. 



278 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

Other parties soon joined us, and listened eagerly to our history of the 
past six days. 

They, in their turn, informed us, that they "knew no more than our- 
selves, of where Mr. Meagher was at that time — the last they had heard 
of him being the day he was in Carrick with Smith O'Brien. They were 
both amazed and sorely disappointed at not having received any orders from 
him, or any instructions whatsoever as to what was to be the duty assigued 
to the men of Waterford — now that the leaders were appealing to the coun- 
try. They ielt that, in this emergency, Meagher's proper place was at the 
head of his own townsmen — the men who knew and loved him best, and 
of whose willingness to follow him to death he had, so lately, sufficient 
proof. They could not, and would not believe that he had either deserted 
them or mistrusted their devotion to himself or to Ireland. And yet — where 
was he now? or why did he leave them bewildered, and without a word to 
signify his intentions in their regard. They felt there was s •mething wrong 

— somewhere in their midst— but they could not say— or even suspect — in 
what quarter the spirit of mischief was secretly working. There they 
were — thousands of as reliable men as stood on Irish ground — many of 
of them fairly armed — and all ready to fight at a call; — moreover, hun- 
dreds of them 'marked men' — liable to be arrested without a moment's 
notice ; — there they were — waiting — still "waiting" — every hour of inac- 
tion increasing their anxiety and sapping their hopes: no competent man to 
take their absent leader's place, and, by some decisive act, put an end to 
this state of irresolution." 

Such was the state of affairs presented to us by the true men of Water- 
ford. Is it any wonder that they felt it would be a welcome relief to have 
it ended in any way — even by those black ships in the river opening fire 
on their native city? 

Those honest, brave-hearted patriots, did not know then, (and most prob- 
ably, never learned since,) that, but three nights previous, their beloved 
young leader, trusting in their truth — as he did in his own resolute heart 

— had come in person into the city, to give them the "Word" they were 
so anxiously and feverishly waiting for; that he had been deceived, and 
their sacred cause betrayed, by a few pusillanimous wretches — whose faith 
he depended on — up to that moment: they did not know — nor could liv- 
ing man imagine— the feeling of utter loneliness and desolation of heart 
with which he, ior the last time, gazed, through the gloom of night upon 
the spot dearest to him of all the earth while the crushing thought — that 
those he most confided in in that centre of his faith, hope, and love — had 



FOLLOWING THE LEADER'' 279 



abandoned him and dishonored their city — wrapped his spirit in a gloom 
far darker titan that which obscured his earthly vision, as he wended on 
his dreary way to rejoin his compatriot, O'Mahouy — alone — instead of being 
accompanied by "a thousand armed men'' — as he had confidently hoped 
when they parted a few hours before. 

Well it was for the lives of the deceitful knaves, that their treachery 
was unknown to their betrayed fellow-citizens, who, on the occasion referred 
to, seemed anxious to vent their exasperation on any assailable object of 
their wrath. Well, also, has it been for their memories, that, with a mag- 
nanimity which, became his noble soul, the victim of their baseness refrained 
from revealing their names up to his death — preferring to let the miscre- 
ants sink into charitable oblivion, than to have their city, and his, disgraced 
by its association with such infamous creatures — and their innocent descend- 
ants — through successive generations — compelled to blush at a reference to 
their unforgotten and nnforgiven crime. 

[Note. — It was but natural for Mr. Meagher to express the belief to 
his friend O'Mahony that Father Tracy was blameless in this matter : for 
how could he, on the mere assertion of self approved cowards — that — "Fathtr 
Tracy could not be found at that time," — condemn any man in whose truth 
he had, hitherto, implicitely confided? 

This shifting the responsibility for their own faithlessness and poltroon- 
ery, upon one whom they knew could not possibly refute their assertion uutil 
too late to counteract its evil consequences — only intensified their meanness 
— as pledge-breaking cowards — and Meagher's contemptuous disgust for the 
sneaking hypocrites.] 

We spent an hour or so viewing the city, in company of one of the 
Club-men whose acquaintance we had made. In several places on our route 
we observed — on green posters — Meagher's latest address to his fellow- 
citizens, calling on them to il Keep the arms in their possession — and go on 
arming," &c. In almost every instance, this appeal was posted either over 
♦ ■ Clarendon'* Proclamation," or in close proximity thereto. Its sight now — 
ten days after ii b first appearance — gave rise to mingled feelings of pride 
and perplexity — on the writer's account. On the whole, matters looked 
rather discouraging for the object of our visit to Waterford. It was evident 
we would obtain no tidings there, either of Mr. Meagher or any other 
prominent Confederate known to us. 

We returned to the vicinity of the Bridge, with the intention of there 
awaiting the arrival of the Dublin mail-coach — due at 4 o'clock. It came, 



280 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



crowded with passengers — inside and out. Among the latter we recognized 
Mr. Edward Holly wood — and the recognition was mutual — : a fortunate cir- 
cumstance for him — as it subsequently appeared. Mr. Hollywood was a 
prominent silk-weaver as well as patriot; and as an incentive to patriotism, 
and the encouragement of native manufactures, he produced a neck-kerchief 
of green silk — with an orange border. As an emblem of the union of 
"Orange and Green!" the article soon became popular with the Confeder- 
ates in Dublin, and throughout the country; and, as its originator was a 
man who consistently stood by his colors, he made his appearance in the 
"proclaimed city of Waterford," with the insignia of "United Irishmen" 
fluttering in the breeze, as the coach whirled rapidly down the Quay. He 
had no doubt of his neck-gear attracting some suspicion to himself, but, on 
principle, he braved the risk and took his chances. But the risk came irora 
a different quarter than where he surmised it would, and his chances of 
being drowned, (for a while,) far out-weighed those tending in an opposite 
direction. For, as it so happened, our good VVaterford "rebels" being in a 
very dangerous mood, suspected Mr. Hollywood to be a Castle spy masque- 
rading in national colors, and some of them followed him to the coach- 
office, determined to watch his movements, and — if these were such as to 
confirm their suspicions — to pitch him incontinently into the Suir — in full 
view of the British men-of-war. 

Poor Mr. Hollywood, unsuspicious of danger from such a quarter, imme- 
diately on alighting from his lofty perch — hurried back to where he had 
seen our familiar faces, but he was quickly followed and soon surrounded 
by a half-dozen fierce-looking fellows, one of whom peremptorily asked him 
"What was his business in Waterford?" and also, "Why he wore those 
colors?" — adding sarcastically — " as if they could deceive any one!" 

Hollywood, seeing at once who his interlocutois were, and that, in his 
case "honesty was the best policy," told them that he came from Dublin; 
that his business in Waterford was to look for Mr. Meagher — who was a 
personal friend of his; and that he wore the neck-kerchief because he had 
a good right to do so — having made it. He then told them his name. 
They "had heard of it,— but how were they to know that he wasn't some 
Castle detective who assumed it to cloak his villainy? Was there any one 
in Waterford who knew him, and could confirm his statement? — for, if there 
wasn't 

Hollywood half-amused, and half-alarmed, did not wait to hear the threat- 
ening alternative — but eagerly informed his "good friends" that, as luck 



''FOLLOWING THE LEADER:' 281 

had it. he saw three men at the upper end of the Quay who could vouch 
for his honesty. 

Thereupon, he was permitted to go on his way a few paces in advance 
of his vigilent escort, until he met us going towards the coach-office to see 
and compare notes with him. After our cordial greeting, he briefly related 
his exciting experience of the past ten minutes — adding, quite seriously, "I 
really expected the fellows would pitch me over the Quay ! " 

We admitted there was some grounds for his supposition — but that weV. 
set matters right in a minute. Thereupon I walked over to where his late 
escort, joined by another group, were watching our proceedings. One of 
the men asked me if I knew that man who just joined us? I told him I did; 
that he was Edward Hollywood, Mr. Meagher's fellow-delegate to Paris! 
With a sigh of relief, he remarked: "Oh! how glad I am; we took him 
for a detective looking for Meagher, and came very near flinging him into 
the river ! " 

The whole crowd then advanced to where Mr. Hollywood stood, and 
soon convinced him that he was among men after his own heart. 

Before our parting, Mr. Hollywood signified his intention of seeking 
O'Brien and Meagher in the district between Carrick and Cashel.* I do not 
think he succeeded in finding them; for, after the affair at Balliugarry — (on 
that same day) — their movements became more uncertain than ever before. 

For our owl part, the futile result of our journey to Waterford left us 
uncertain as to where we should next turn. An accident decided that ques- 
tion. Among those we met on the Quay was a young man from Xew-Ross, 
named O'Byrne, who was a member of the " Art MacMorrough Club " of 
that town. His father and himself owned a lighter, in which thev were 
about returning home that evening, and he invited us to take passage with 
them. As there might be a possible chance of some one of the leaders 
selecting that good old " rebel stronghold " as the sphere of his operations, 
we decided to accept the invitation, and, bidding good-bye to the rest of 
our friends, we accompanied Mr. O'Byrne to his boat, where he introduced 
us to his father, who gave us a hearty welcome. He was a genuine scion 



* Note. — After the failure of the insurrectionary movement, Mr. Hollywood effecteo his 
escape to France, where, with his family, he contiaued to reside for some years. After 
his wife's death, he returned to Dublin, and officiated as one of the chief mourners at 
MacManus's Juneral in that city, in November, 1S61. Some years later he died in Dublin, 
ami was buried in Glasuevin cemetery. His funeral was numerously attenoed by his sur- 
viving comrades of '48. His grave lies within a few yards of the main entrance to the 
cemetery. 



2S2 MEMOIBS OF GEN THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

of the old Wicklow stock, mid hated the foreign interlopers as intensely as 
Feagh MacHugh himself did. When I told him that one of the Dublin clubs 
was named after the " Ninety-eisrht" hero — "Billy Byrne of Ballymanus,"' 
his countenance lit up with the pride of his brave old race, and turning to 
his stalwart son, he exclaimed — "See that, now! How they didn't forget 
the ould stock? "' 

On our way up the Barrow, young Mr. O'Byrne directed our attention to 
a narrow part of the river where a rocky headland projected into the chan- 
nel. He told us the promontory was called "Lady's Rock!" and that the 
men of Boss had decided to sink a lighter — loaded with lime-stone — at that 
spot — ichen thty got the "Word!" so as to obstruct the channel, and prevent 
the men-of-war at Waterford from reaching their town. As it was almost 
night by this time, and threatening to rain, our kind host prevailed on us 
to occupy their bed in the little cabin. We had a sound sleep, and did not 
wake 'til we felt the boat bumping against the quay of Boss, on Sunday 
morning. 

As we declined the Messrs. O'Byrne's invitation to take breakfast at 
their house, the young man accompanied us to a lodging-house. After break- 
fasting we went to mass, after which, and during the course of the day, 
we met several club-men, — all as anxious as ourselves, and all as ignorant 
of the whereabouts of those we were in search of. It was certain, how- 
ever, that none of the Confederate leaders had come to Boss. Still we did 
not regret our coming thither, for it was a place of historic associations, 
of which Irishmen might well feel proud; and the glorious scenery at the 
junction of the Bivers Nore and Barrow — about a mile above the town, was, 
in itself, worth going a day's journey to view, at any time, but under the 
circumstances, we enjoyed the magnificent prospect in an intensified degree; 
for it imparted a portion of its brightness to our spirits, and enabled us 
to bear up all the more cheerfully under our recent disappointments, and 
face the uncertainties of the future wilh a more trustful confidence than 
our present position would seem to warrant. 

On our way back to Boss, we decided that, owing to the low state of 
our finances, it was impossible for us to continue our search any further; 
and that therefore, it was advisable that we should part company next day 
— my two comrades to remain in Boss — where they could abide quietly and 
get work at their trade, — and I to return to the vicinity of my home, and 
there, for a while, await the course of events, — I taking their address, so 
that, should circumstances so warrant, I could notify them to rejoin me. 

In accordance with this plan I took the steamer from Waterford next 



"FOLLOWING THE LEADER." 283 

morning. I left that city at noon and proceeded to Cappoquin on foot, 
arriving there at 9 P. M., when, for the first time, I learned what occurred 
at Ballingarry on the previous Saturday. 

[Note. — A few words relative to the subsequent career of my two 
faithful comrades may be recorded here; 

BOB. WARD, 

I never saw since our parting in New Ross. After remaining in that town 
for some months, he returned to Dublin, but lound it impossible to abide there 
during the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, — as hi3 person was known 
to nearly all the detectives in the city. He remained in the country, how- 
ever, for about two years after, when he emigrated to America, and resided 
for several years in Baltimore, where he was known to his fellow-exiles as 
an uncompromising Irish Nationalist of the most extreme type. From Bal- 
timore he removed "out West," where — as I learned from an acquaintance 
of his — he died. I did not learn the date of his death, but think it must 
be before John O'Mahony founded the Fenian Brotherhood, as, if my old com- 
rade w^is living during the existance of that organization, I would certainly 
hear from him. 

DAN MAGRATH'S 

Efforts in the Irish Revolutionary cause did not cease on the failure of the 
'48 movement. He did not believe the people were given a fair trial then, and 
so, when, in the next year, a secret revolutionary organization was started 
to continue the struggle, he became one of its most active propagandists in 
the county of Waterford. At the time appointed for a general simultaneous 
"rising" — September 16th, 1849. Cappoquin (alone) responded. For the part 
Dan. played on that occasion he was honored — in company with two others 
— with a place in Her Majesty's " Hue and Cry," and a reward of £100 
each, offered for their capture, — but in vain; for, after months of weary 
wanderings, the three proscribed rebels succeeded in reaching New York, 
only to re-commence their labors in the good cause of fatherland. 

As a first step they joined an Irish military organization, and so learned 
to perform a man's part more effectually when the next opportunity came 
for striking a blow for Irish liberty. 

During Dan's residence in New York he became affiliated with the suc- 
cessive Irish Revolutionary movements set on foot in that city. About 1858 
he moved to Missouri, where he prospered in business, got married, and 
raised a large family. 



284 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

He was an early member of the Fenian Brotherhood, and continued an 
enthusiastic aid devoted friend of John O'Mahony up to that gentleman's 
death. From that period until his own death — on Christmas Eve, 1S8S — Dan 
lent a generous support to every organization, whether 'Revolutionary" or 
"Constitutional," having for its avowed object the attainment of Irish liberty 
— and, after serving faithfully for forty years the old cause in which, as a 
boy he enlisted in 1848, he died as he lived — an honest man, and consistent 
patriot, leaving in his career an incentive and an inspiration to the young 
men of his race who are imbued with a spirit of devotion to Ireland's free- 
dom, which constituted the main-spring of his existence. 

His remains rest in the Catholic cemetery of Marshall, Mo. "Would that 
they lay with his kin — in "Green Affane," or "Grey Lisniore!" 



CHAPTER XLVII. 



THE FAILURE — AND ITS ALLEGED CAUSES. 

" It little matters why we fell, 
If we arise to-morrow." 

John Keegan. 

The failure of the '4S movement in Ireland has been attributed to vari- 
ous causes, both by the several writers on the subject who participated 
therein, and by others who had no personal knowledge of the facts. Some, 
(of the latter class especially) have sought to throw the blame on the people 
— who, they assert — failed to respond to the call of their leaders: others 
attribute the result to the hostile attitude of the priests. These statements 
are both erroneous and unjust, yet they have boen so often reiterated that 
they have been accepted as facts by very many of our own race, as well 
as by the world at large. Before proceeding to refute them on my own 
responsibility I shall quote Mr. Meagher's opinions on the subject. 

In a letter written from Van Dieman's land in February, 1S50, and sent 
to Mr. Duffy for publication in the Nation, Mr. Meagher says : — 

"The defeat of 1S4S was not the defeat of a whole people. It was 



THE FAILUBE—AND ITS ALLEGED CAUSES. 285 

nothing more than the rout of a few peasants, hastily collected, badly 
armed, half-starved, and miserably clad. 

" The country did not turn out. The country was not beaten, therefore. 
And hence it should neither be disheartened nor ashamed. 

" Why a more general movement did not take place, I have no time at 
present to explain. There were many reasons for it; and as I intend to 
write a little narrative of what occurred in Tipperary during the period to 
which I allude, j-ou shall have them at some future day. 

'* I feel, however, it would not be candid of me to conceal the opinion 
I have frequently stated in private, that we who went to Tipperary did not 
put the question properly to the country — did not give the country a fair 
opportunity — did not adopt anything like the best means for evoking the 
heroism of the people, and bringing it into action. 

" I owe it to people to make this avowal. It pains me to reflect that 
such an avowal has been so long withheld, and that iu the absence of it 
they have been charged with cowardice and desertion. 

"There is another slander, too — a slander no less unjust and scandal- 
ous than the one I have this moment mentioned — which I feel bound also 
to refute. 

"Since the affair at Ballingarry, it has been repeatedly rung in our 
ears — ' The priests betrayed you ! ' 

"The priests did not betray us. Asa body they were opposed to us — 
actively and determinedly opposed to us — from the day of the Secession 
down to very day on which the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act was 
announced by express in Dublin. In not joining us, therefore, in the field 
— in not exhorting the people to take up arms — nay, in setting themselves 
against the few who rallied around us, and warning them to their homes — 
in all this they did not not act treacherously; they acted simply with strict 
consistency. 

"I do not. of course, applaud them for the part they acted. With the 
belief that is rooted in my mind I could not do so. For I firmly believe 
that, had the Catholic priests of Ireland preached the revolution from their 
altars — had they gone out, like the Sicilian priests, or the Archbishop of 
Milan, and borne the Cross in front of the insurgent ranks — had this been 
the case, I firmly believe there would have been a young Nation, crowned 
with glory, standing proudly up by the side of England at this hour." 

Whatever were the opinions entertained by honest and intelligent men 
as to the various auxiliary causes of the failure, there can be no reasonable 



286 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



doubt that the main cause was owing to the absence of preliminary organ- 
ization among the people selected by the leaders to inaugurate the insur- 
rection, and to the utter lack of military knowledge amongst those leaders 
themselves. 

Those leaders, for reasons supposed by them to be all sufficient, declined 
to avail themselves of the organized strength of the metropolis; they made 
no demand on the ten thousand club-men that Mr. O'Brien stated were ready 
at their call in Cork; they lacked the decision of character to avail them- 
selves of the glorious opportunity afforded them by the organized clubs of 
Carrick and its vicinity, and took their chances among a peasantry without 
arms or a commissariat, and they were unable to suggest how these indis- 
pensable requisites to a successful revolt could be supplied. 

Some of the priests had openly opposed the movement, and all but 
anathematized its leaders; a few more, whose antecedents led the people ro 
expect their active cooperation, shrank from the crucial test of patriotism, 

— and the unnaturally hostile attitude assumed by those few selfish extra- 
loyal clergymen of the first mentioned cla*s, and the desertion of the still 
fewer presumed friends of the cause, was, erroneously taken as being rep- 
resentative of the animus of the priests in general, and this disheartening 
reflection threw a damper on the desperate but ill-directed efforts of the 
chivalrous and devoted gentlemen, who, in their enthusiasm for liberty and 
love lor their country and its oppressed people, had undertaken a project 
which they had neither the material means nor the scientific ability to carry 
out successfully, though they never encountered a word of opposition from 
any of the popular partv, clerical or lay. 

A few words more as to the action of the priests in '48. It was well 
known to the people of Tipperary and Waterford that, in the course of the 
summer of that year, many of them advised the people — from their altars 

— to prepare for the "coming time," while the majority contented themselves 
with encouraging the people privately, or remaining silent altogether, espe- 
cially after their bishop enjoined sileuce on such subjects, under penalty of 
suspension. It was unreasonable to expect that priests would go openly 
and preach insurrection, at a time when few, if any, of them knew what were 
the plans of the leaders, or whether they could serve or injure the cause 
by so doing. 

I know most of what I here state from actual observation at the time. 
I believe also, that had a general "call to arms" been made, and that but 
one priest in twenty responded thereto, the great majority of their flocks 



THE FAILUBE-AND ITS ALLEGED CAUSES. 287 

would pay little hetd to the prayers — or curses of the nineteen, but would 
follow the true one, — and their own convictions. 

But why expect priests to fight at all? "Would they not find other more 
congenial means of serving the revolutionary cause than by assuming a 
position they were unqualified for, — that of leading men to battle — where 
one skilled soldier would be worth a dozen ordinary enthusiasts'?* 

As to the charge, brought by some parties against the Munster peasantry, 
— that of having by their apathy in supporting O'Brien contributed mainly 
to the failure of '48. I, as one personally cognizant of the circumstances, 
point to the indisputable historical fact that, in the very district in which 
Mr. O'Brien and his Confederate leaders despaired of inaugurating an insurrec- 
tion in July of that year, in which the " Arms Act " was in constant oper- 
ation, and the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended; — in which the famine 
and extermination had left their gloomiest traces; in which the priests were 
most inimical to the movement; in which the government forces — soldiers, 
spies and peelers, had been steadily augmented — here — in this "Valley of 
the Suir," two months later, when these distinguished leaders were either 
iumates of a prison awaiting their trial for high treason — or hunted fugi- 
tives with a price set on their heads, — this traduced peasantry — at the call 
of a man who was neither a distinguished statesman, an eloquent orator, 
or a brilliant writer of political articles, or soul-stirring lyrics, — (and con- 



*The position of the generality of the Catholic clergy of South Tipperary and Water 
ford in 184", was graphically explained in my presence by the Reveiend Father Heffernan, 
the patriotic Parish Priest of C.erihan and Rosegreen. It was iu a discourse addressed to 
his flock in the chapel of Rosegiveu, and on the Sunday previous to the opening of the 
State Trials in Clonmel. The country was in a very disturbed condition just then — for 
John o'Mahony was muster' ng the peasantry of the Valley of the Suir on the spurs of 
the Commeraghs, and parties iu s arch of fire-arms were scouring the country Eightly. In 
allucins; to this latter circumstance the good old priest cautioned his flock not to be mis- 
led by the extravagant reports in circulation. 

"Do you know what some of the fools say?" he remarked with a comical expres- 
sion on bis plea-ant lace. " Why, that Father Heffernan is going to lead 'em! Wouldn't 
1 ook well, the like of me of an old man, trudging along with a pike on my shoulder? 
No, my boys! Father Heffeinau will do no such Uilng! And I'll tell you why he won't. 
Because Father Heffernan — and every other 'Father' who was ordained in Maynoota had 
to take the 'oath of allegiance!' Now, Father Heffernan is not going to break that oath, 
by appearing at the head of a body of 'lebels!' But if he don't there's another thing 
he won't do either! — Father Heffernan won't lift a hand or a leg, or give one wag of bia 
tongue to save the tyrants who oppress his people from getting what their crimes deserve. 
That's wh.tt Father Htfferuan won't do." 



288 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

sequently unknown except to the people among whom he lived, and by whom 
he was beloved and looked up to,) — organized silently, armed themselves 
with such rude weapons as their way-side forges could supply, and depend- 
ing on the neighboring farmers for provisions, abandoned home and famity, 
and took to the hill-sides to prove their devotion to Liberty and Ireland. Well 
has Thomas Davis said : — 

" The heart of the people is always right." 
And if John O'Mahony effected nothing with that formidable physical pow^r 
which he, who knew the heart of the people, had succeeded in evoking, it was 
because he too, accomplished gentleman and erudite scholar as he was, had 
not then, owing to lack of opportunity, 

"Trained his soul to lead a line." 

Had but one-fourth of that gallaat band of Irish veterans who, under 
his direction returned to their native land in '65, been with him in '48 on 
the slopes of the Commeraghs, there would have been a different tale to 
tell of that " September rising." 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 



THE PENALTY OF PATRIOTISM. 

'Gainst England longr battling, at length they went down; 

As truagh gan oidhlr 'n-a bh-farradli! 
But they left tbeir deep tracks on the road of renown; 

As truagh gan oidhir 'n-a bh-farradh! 

Thomas Davis. 

When, after his disappointment in Waterford, Meagher re-joined O'Ma- 
hony, the latter proposed to have- him take command of the clubs on the 
county Waterford side of the Suir, while he himself would cooperate with 



THE PENALTY OF PATRIOTISM. 



him at the head of the Tipperary men in the district between Carrick and 
Sliabh-na-mou. But. though assuied that the men of his native county would 
lollow him enthusiastically, Meagher declined to assume any independent 
command whatsoever — preferring to join O'Brien and share his fortunes — 
gloomy and disheartening as he felt them to be. 

It is unnecessary, on the present occasion, to detail the. desultory and 
unimportant movements of the bewildered insurrectionary leaders during the 
brief time they remained in company; suffice it to say that, finding it im- 
possible to carry out their intentions, they filially separated, some to escape 
across the seas, and others to fall into the hands of the enemy. Among 
the former were Dillon, Doheny, Reilly, Stevens, Cantwell, Smith, Hollywood, 
and other prominent Confederates. Smith O'Brien, Meagher, O'Donoghoe, Leyne 
and MacManus, were arrested and lodged in prison to await their trial on a 
charge of High Treason. O'Mahony, alone, held his ground — trusting in the 
fidelity of the people, and awaiting another opportunity to test their courage. 
He, too, was eventually forced to abandon the struggle for a time, but not until 
he had done enough to vindicate his opinion of the people's manhood, and 
their unswerving fidelity to those whom they knew and trusted — and who 
knew and trusted them. 

Mr. O'Brien was arrested in Thurles, on the 5th of August, Messrs. 
Meagher, O'Donognoe, and Leyne, near Eathgannon, on the 12th, and Mr. 
MacManus, on board an American ship, the 2V. D. Chase, in the Cove of 
Cork, on the 30th of that month. All these gentlemen were, immediately 
after their arrest, conveyed to Kilmainham prison, Dublin. 

THE PRISONERS REMOVED TO CLONMEL. 

On the 18th of September, the state prisoners were 'conveyed by the 
Great Southern and AVestern Railway to Thurles. and from thence by coach, 
to Clonmel, where they were to be tried before a " Special Commission," 
which was to open on the 21st. It was a gloomy prospect they had to 
look forward to, yet it was powerless to affect their indomitable resolution 
in the least. O'Brien maintained his usual cheerfulness and calm dignity of 
manner, O'Donoghoe his characteristic blui.tness and contemptuous defiance 
of the British Queen and constitution, while the irrepressible spirit of fun 
kept possession of the exuberant hearts of the three younger members of 
the party. Indeed, one of the most racy and side-splitting stories I ever 
heard Meagher relate, was founded upon some humorous incidents of the 
journey from Thurles to Clonmel that frosty September morning. 

19 



290 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

THE TRIALS. 

Mr. Smith O'Brien's trial was the first called. It opened on September 
28th before the following carefully selected jury : 
Eichard M. J. Mauseragh, of Greuane, Samuel Perry, of Barrona, 

foreman. John Bussell, of Ballydavid, 

Edward C. Moore, of Mooresfort, Edward Pennfetder, of Marlow, 

Eichard Gasou, of Richmond, Thomas Sadler, of Balliugarry, 

John Ooing, of Birdhill, John Tuthill, of Raplank, 

John Lloyd, of Lisburue, Richard Manser, of Gralla, 

Charles Going of Castle Craua. 

Tot a Milesian name on the list — all of the Cromwellian stock. The 
farce of a trial proceeded before that jury for nine days. It needed not nine 
miuutes to make up their minds for a conviction. 

When on the third day after the verdict of " Guilty " was rendered, 
the prisoner v. as asked what he had to say why sentence should not be 

passed on him? Mr. O'Brien, in a calm and firm voice, addressing the 

court, said: — 

O'BRIEX'S SPEECH FEOM THE DOCK. 

"My lords, it is not my intention to enter into any vindication of my con- 
duct, however much I might have desired to avail myself of this opportu- 
nity of doing so. I am perfectly satisfied with the consciousness that I have 
performed my duty to my country; that I have done only that which, in 
my opinion, it was the duty of every Irishman to have done; and I am 
prepared to abide the consequences of having performed my duty to my 
native land. Proceed with jour sentence."' 

Chief Justice. Blackburne then pronounced the following sentence: — 

li The Sentence is that You, William Smith O'Brien, be taken 
from hence to the place from ichence you came, and be thence Drawn 
on a Hurdle to the Place of Execution, and bo there Hanged by 
the Ned: until you are Dead; and that after/cards your Head shall 
hi Severed /mm Your Body, and Your Body Divided into Four 
Quarters, to be disposed of as Her Majesty shall think Jit, and 
may Cod have mercy on your soul. 

Immediately after O'Brien's sentence, MacManus was put on trial — with 
the same result. 



THE PENALTY OF PATRIOTISM. 29 I 

Then came the trial of Patrick O'Donohoe — before a jury of ultra-loyal 
Protestants. As a matter of course, he, too, was found guilty. 
Maurice R. Leyne was not brought to trial. 

TRIAL OF THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER, 
October 16th-23d, 184S. 

On Monday, October 16. Clonmel Courthouse was crowded to its utmost 
capacity, while the streets in its vicinity were densely thronged with the 
people of both town and country. It was the day selected for the opening 
of Meagher's trial. 

The local papers thus describe the scene in the Court-house: 

" All eyes were turned to the dock to catch the first glance of the 
celebrated and single-minded young patriot, whose love of country had placed 
his liberty or his life at the mercy of others. His apptarance and manner 
were not unworthy of him. They fully equalled in firmness, dignity and 
composure, those of the men who preceded him at the bar, eharged with 
the same offence. 

" He cast a quiet and dignified glance round the crowded court, and 
deported himself with as much ease and composure in the felon's dock as 
if he were enjoying the society of his friends, instead of being a state pris- 
oner on trial for his life. 

"Mr. Meagher was dressed in accordance with his usual neatness and 
good taste. He wore a plain black frock-coat, black silk stock and light 
colored waistcoat, and on his finger a large gold ring, in which was set 
an accurate and beautiful miniature of his friend John Mitchel. 

"The prisoner having been called on to plead — in a clear and firm voice 
replied — ' Not Guilty.' 

"Mr. Meagher then addressed the court from the dock, in the follow- 
ing terms : — 

MEAGHER'S PROTEST AGAINST JURY PACKING. 

"'My lords, previous to the jury being sworn, I respectfully beg leave 
to say a few words. I desire to protest against the construction of the 
panel from which the jury by which I am to be tried has been selected. 
Personally, I care not whether I am to be tried by Protestants or by Ro- 
man Catholics. Though I am myself a Roman Catholic. I feel that my 
cause, my honor, my liberty, my life, are as safe in the hands of a jury 



292 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

composed exclusively of Protestants, as they would be with a jury composed 
exclusively of Eoman Catholics. Were I. indeed, to consult my own feel- 
ings, I would not make those observations, but. my lords, as a matter of 
principle- — a principle vitally affecting the the open, legitimate, satisfactory 
administration of justice in this kingdom — upon high public grounds, per- 
haps the highest public grounds that can exist, I feel myself called upon 
to protest, and I do so in the most solemn manner, against the system by 
which, in a Catholic county, of a Catholic couutry, only eighteen Roman 
Catholics— (with emphasis) — are returned upon a panel of nearly three hun- 
dred jurors. 

"In consequence of the demurrer in the ca=e of Mr. Smith O'Brien I 
conceive it would be a wanton waste of the public time were I to instruct 
my counsel to challenge the array ; but as I feel this will be the last time 
I may raise my voice against a system, which virtually, and in fact, repeals 
the right conferred by law upon the members of that creed to which 1 am 
proud to belong, I feel it my duty to make this protest; but in doing so 
I am sure the gentlemen about to be sworn, and those who know me — 
who have given credit to the sentiments I have uttered in public — will be- 
lieve me when I say that I am not influenced by the slightest sentiment of 
sectarianism.' 

"Loud applause, clapping of hands, and stamping of feet in the galle- 
ries, followed the conclusion of this short but manly and characteristic ad- 
dress of the noble-minded and enthusiastic prisoner." 

The jury, however, teas packed — all the same. There was one Catholic 
(loyalist, of course,) on it, Nicholas JB. Greene, Kuocknuspie. 

The trial then proceeded. The indictment contained two charges — one 
for "levying war against the Queen," and the other of "compassing the 
death of the Queen." Meagher was found guilty, in due course, and, in 
company with his compatriots — MacMauus and O'Donoghoe — was, on Mon- 
day, October 23d, brought to the bar for judgment. 

On being asked if they had anything to say why sentence of death and 
execution should not be passed upon them, MacMauus aud O'Donohoe replied 
in a few manly sentences; Mr. Meagher then proceeded to address the court. 
He spoke as follows : — 

MEAGHER'S LAST SPEECH IX IRELAND. 

Delivered in Cloxmel Court-House, October' 23d, 1848. 

" My Lords, it is my intention to say a few words only. I desire that the 
last act of a proceeding which has occupied so much of the public time shall 



THE PENALTY OF PATBIOTISM. 293 

be of short duration. Nor have I the indelicate wish to close the dreary 
ceremony of a State prosecution with a vain display of words. Did I fear 
that, hereafter, when I shall be no more, the country I have tried to serve 
would think ill of me, I might, indeed, avail myself of this solemn moment 
to vindicate my sentiments and my conduct. But I have no such tear. The 
country will judge of those sentiments and that conduct in a light far dif- 
ferent from that in which the jury by which I have been convicted have 
viewed them : and by the country, the sentence which you. my lords, are 
about to pronounce, will be remembered only as the severe and solemn attes- 
tation of my rectitude and truth. Whatever be the language in which that 
sentence be spoken, I know that my fate will meet with sympathy and 
that my memory will be honored. In speaking thus, accuse me not, my 
lords, of an indecorous presumption. To the efforts I have, made in a just 
and noble cause I ascribe no vain importance, nor do I claim for those 
efforts any high reward. But it so happens, and it will ever happen so, 
that they who have tried to serve their country, no matter how weak the 
effort may have been, are sure to receive the thanks and the blessings of 
its people. 

"With my countrv, then, I leave my memory — my sentiments — my acts 
— proudly feeling that they require no vindication from me this day. A 
jury of my countrymen, it is true, have found me guilty. of the crime of 
which I stood indicted. For this I entertain not the slightest feeling of 
resentment iow,ards them. Influenced, as they must have been, by the charge 
of the Lord Chief- Justice, they could have found no other verdict. 

"What of that charge? Any strong observations on it, I feel sincerely, 
would ill bent the solemnity of this scene; but I would earnestly beseech 
of you, my lord, you who preside on that bench, when the passions and 
the prejudices of this hour have passed away, to appeal to your conscience, 
and ask of it, was your charge as ii ought to have been; impartial and in- 
different between the subject and the crown. 

"My lords, you may deem this language unbecoming in me, and per- 
haps it may seal my fate. But I am here to speak the truth whatever it 
may cost. I am here to regret nothing I have ever done — to retract nothing 
I have ever said, I am here to crave with no lying lip, the life I conse- 
crate to the liberty of mv country. Far from it; even here — here, where 
the thief, the libertine, the murderer, have left their foot-prints in the dust; 
here, on this spot, where the shadows of death surround me, and from 
which I see my early grave in an unannointed soil open to receive me — 
even here, encircled by these terrors, the hope which has beckoned me to 



294 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

the perilous sea upon which I have been wrecked, still consoles, animates, 
enraptures me. 

"No, I do not despair of my poor old country, her peace, her liberty, 
her glory. For that country I can do no more than bid her hope. To lift 
this island up — to make her a benefactor to humanity, instead of being the 
meanest beggar in the world — to restore to her her native powers and her 
ancient constitution — this has been my ambition, and this ambition has been 
my crime. Judged by the law of England, I know this crime entails the 
penalty of death ; but the history of Ireland explains this crime, and justi- 
fies it. Judged by that history, I am no criminal — you (addressing Mr. 
MacManus,) and you (addressing Mr. O'Donohoe,) are no criminals. I deserve 
no punishment — we deserve no punishment. Judged by that history, the 
treason of which I stand convicted loses all its guilt, is sanctified as a 
duty, will be ennobled as a sacrifice. 

" With these sentiments, my lord, I await the sentence of the Court. 
Having done what I felt to be my duty — having spoken what I felt to be 
the truth — as I have done on every other occasion of my short career, I 
now bid farewell to the country of my birth, my passion, and my death 

— the country whose misfortunes have invoked my sympathies — whose fac- 
tions I have sought to still — whose intellect I have prompted to a lofty aim 

— whose freedom has been my fatal dream. I offer to that country, as a 
proof of the love I bear her, and the sincerity with which 1 thought, 
and spoke, and struggled for her freedom — the life of a young heart, and 
with that life, all the hopes, the honors, the endearments of a happy and 
an honorable home. 

"Pronounce, then, my lords, the sentence which the law directs; I am 
prepared to hear it. I trust I shall be prepared to meet its executiou. I 
hope to be able, with a pure heart and perfect composure to appear before 
a higher tribunal — a tribunal where a Judge of infinite goodness, as well 
as justice will preside, and where, my lords, many — many, of the judg- 
ments of this world wille be reversed."' 

The same sentence as that passed on O'Brien was then pronounced 
•igainst his three compatriots, after which the victims were conveyed back 
to their quarters in the gaol, there to await their doom as became the rep- 
resentative men of their brave old race. 

With the gaze of the civilized world concentrated upon her, the British 
Queen felt that, with all her thirst for vengeance, she could not in decency, 
accept the spoils of victory which her savage laws placed at her disposal ; 
so, in imitation of that other arch-hypocrite, Pilate, — she "washed her hands- 



THE PENALTY OF PATRIOTISM. 295 

of the bloody business " — and "graciously" ordered that the extreme sen- 
tence should be "mitigated to transportation for life.'''' 

An official notification of Her Majesty's pleasure was read to the pris- 
oners on the 26th of October, in Clonmel gaol. On the 16th of November 
they were transferred to Dublin, and placed in Kilmainham gaol, but, in a 
few days afterwards they were assigned quarters in Richmond Bridewell. 

There they remained for nearly eight months, pending the decision mi 
some legal points raised in their b3half — but without their consent — by 
some well-meaning friends. 

MEAGHER'S LAST DAY IX IRELAND. 
At length, on the 9th of July, 1849, the order for the deportation of 
the State prisoners arrived at Richmond Bridewell. It had been expected, 
and they were ready. On that morning Meagher addressed the following 
letter to his friend, John P. Leouard, of Paris. It has a peculiar interest 
for his countrymen, as being the last he ever penned in his native laud. 

Richmond Pihson, July 9, 1849. 
"My dear Leonard: — 

"This morning, or to-morrow, at furthest, we will be put on board the 
war-brig which is to convey us to Van Dieman's Land, and I most gladly 
avail myself of a few moments at my disposal to assure you, now that I 
am on the eve of parting from my sad poor country, of my very warm 
esteem and friendship. 

"As I told you in one of my previous letters, the recollection of the 
days I spent in Paris, in the eventful year of 1848, will be to me for many 
a year to come a source of very deep delight. Would to heaven that the 
hopes which then shone so brilliantly above our paths were still visible in our 
changeful and mournful sky — were still the objects of the people's love, 
faith, and adoration. But they have disappeared — clouds on clouds have 
thickened round them, and in the darkuess which covers the land we hear 
but the wail of the dying, and the supplications of the penniless and the 
breadless. Never, never was their country so utterly downcast, so debased, 
so pitiful, to spiritless/'* 



*When Meagher penned those lines, he could only judge of the opinions of his coun- 
trymen by the utterances of the cowardly slaves who— (wh^n true men were working 
silently to redeem their cause from unmerited disgrace) —impudently presumei to speak 
In the name of the land they had betrayed an i sold. A few months afterwards, when an 
exile at the Antipodes, he received inte.ligencc which tended to dispel his gloomy estimate 



296 MEM01BS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

"Yet I do not, could not, despair of her regeneration. Nations do not 
die in a day. Their lives are reckoned by generations, and they encompass 
centuries. Their vitality is inextinguishable. Their sufferings are sometimes 
terrible, but they survive the deadliest plagues, the red inundation of the 
battle-field, the storm which topples towers and pyramids, the fire in which 
millions of wealth is melted down, the earthquake which engulfs cities 
and buries a whole people in one indistinguishable sepulchre — they have 
been known to survive all. Greece has so outlived her ruins and her woes. 
Italy has so outlived her degeneracy and her despotisms. Thus too, shall 
Ireland survive all her sufferings, her error*, and disasters, and rear one 
day an "Arch of Triumph" high above the wreck and wilderness of the 
past. This is my sincere faith. It is this which elates me at this moment 
— it is this which in my weary exile will make me Jorget my solitude, for- 
get my privations, forget all the happiness I have sacrificed, and change 
what would otherwise be a weary bondage into a tranquil, happy dream. 
Besides, I feel that I have simply done nothing else than my plain duty, 
and hence I cannot be otherwise than proud and happy at this moment. 
My heart, indeed, was never so firm — the consciousness of having acted 
with purity, with generosity, in the face of all perils, and at the cost of 
friends and home and country — this is a deep, never-failing soui'ce of the 
most delightful joy. I would not exchange places this day with the most 
comfortable and happy slave in the country. 

" Orders have come. 

" Yours devotedly, 

" Thomas Francis Meagher." 



of Ireland's manhood at the time; and, — in alluding to the subject afterwards, to bear 
the loilowing testimony 10 the true state of Irish popular sentiment in the summer of 
1S49:- 

"The "Swift" did not transport the patriotism of the country. A very sma.l poition 
was packed on board that pkasant sloop of war, and consigned to Hobart Town. The 
young, intelligent men of the country — artizans, literary men, the better circumstanced and 
educated of the peasantry, the young tradesmen of the LelusUr and Munster towns — these 
remained to try another wrestle with the veteran foe of Ireland. 

"Hundreds of young Irishman, in humble social circumstances, modestly and silently 
daied and lost all for Ireland in 184S, and in the autumn of 1849, the period to which in 
these paragraphs we specially a lude." — Meagheb in the Irish News July 19th, 1856. 



THE PENALTY OF PATE/OTISM. 



The hand that penned the above may be readily recognized in the fol- 
lowing 

FAEEWELL ADDRESS 

Of tiie State Prisoners to the People of Ireland, Written Immedi- 
ately Before their Departure. 

" Fellow-Countrymen : — 

" If your efforts to procure a mitigation of the penalties to 
which we are about to be subjected had been as successful as you desired, 
we could not have offered you more sincere and grateful acknowledgments 
than those which we now tender, for the sympathy and solicitude which 
you have displayed in our behalf." 

" At this moment, whilst we are bidding our last sad farewell to our 
native land, the reflection that our fellow-countrymen have not witnessed 
with indifference our removal from amongst them is a sweet source of con- 
solation; and, be assured, that this remembrance will hereafter be a sooth- 
ing alleviation to whatever sufferings it may be our lot to endure. 

" Knowing that we address many who do not concur with us in politi- 
cal opinions, we do not feel ourselves at liberty to offer any observations 
upon the policy by which this country is governed — upon the policy which 
gave occasion to our resistance to British power — upon the policy which 
now consigns us to exile. We are compelled to repress even the emotions 
which we feel in reflecting upon the awful condition in which we leave the 
land that we have deeply loved; nor is this a fitting occasion to point out 
the means by which its disasters may be repaired; but we cannot refrain 
from the expression of a hope, that you will not despair of your country; 
and we may be permitted to offer to our fellow-countrymen a parting 
exhortation, that they will lay aside those unhappy dissensions which have 
so long paralysed the intrinsic strength of the Irish nation, and henceforth 
learn to love and confide in each other. 

" We feel that it is not necessary to say anything to you in vindica- 
tion of our motives. Even those who most condemn our conduct know that 
we have not been animated by considerations of a personal nature in haz- 
arding all that was dear to us for the sake of our native land; but we 
owe it to our feelings to declare that, whatever may be the sacrifices we 



298 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

incur by devotion to its interests, our latest aspiration will be a prayer 
for the prosperity, the honor, and the independence of Ireland. 

" William Smith O'Brien, 
" Thomas Francis Meagher, 
"Terence Bellew McManus, 
" Patrick 0"Donohoe. 
"Richmond Prison." 



CHAPTER XLIX. 



CLOSING SCENES. 

" The last breeze from Erin 

Has passed oe'r my brow, 
The gale of tie ocean 

Is o er me now; 
I leave thee my country 

Farewell! though thou art 
The life-pulse that siiis me — 

The veins of my heart. 

Erin mavourneen, farewell!" 

[From Meagher's "Personal Recollections."] 

"Monday morning, July 9th, 1S49. Cornelius Cooper, Deputy Governor, 
Richmond Prison, Dublin, enteied my cell in said prison. Informed me that 
the Governor of said prison had received a communication from Mr. Red- 
ington, Under Secretary for the English Government of Ireland, notifying 
him that orders had been issued for the immediate transportation of the 
political prisoners in his custody. 

"William Smith O'Brien, Terence Bellew McManus, Patrick O'Donohue, 
and Thomas Francis Meagher, were the prisoners in question. 

"Half-past ten, police van, escorted by fifty mounted police — pistols 
and carbines — pulled up within the wall of the prison. 



CLOSING SCENES. 



"T troops of Dragoons — 6th Carbineers — under command of Colonel 

Manns . Tived shortly after. 
1 his 
"' ast eleven, entered the van. Tears, farewells, waving of hand- 

kerchi <X a rapid pace driven oft' to the Pigeon House. Artillery-men 

i harbr 
at tn s. Guns loaded. Colonels of all branches of her Majesty's ser- 

vice ' * n a11 ground. Most of them with red noses. Boats ot the Dragon, 
war-steV. e evi( iu readiness. Each boat w* 11 manned. A Lieutenant command- 
ing. In a fe or three minutes the Dragon brings us to the Swift. — The 
Swift lies at anchor a little outside the light-house on Kingstown pier. A 
ten-gun brig, very trim, bright and rakish. 

'• On board the brig, introduced to the captain, shown to our cabin. 

'Half-past three, under weigh. Passing Bray Head permitted to walk 
the deck. Previous to doing so, the Captain, accompanied by the Surgeon, 
read us the rules we had to observe during the trip. 

"Rules simp'e enough. Two only permitted on deck at a time. Lights 
extinguished nine o'clock every night. No communication with any of the 
ship's compai y, Captain and Surgeon excepted. No smoking save on deck, 
abreast the main-mast, and then at stated hours only. Hours stated be- 
tween one and two p. M., and five and six p. M. Meals supplied by Brit- 
ish Government. Same scale as supernumeraries. S> nominated in the bond. 

"Rules being read, O'Brien and I went on deck. Within gun-shot of 
the Wicklow coast. Half-past five — clouds thickening — dinner served. Served 
by a marine with cross-belts and bayonet. 

"Dinner consists of two pounds of hard beef-steak — plate of sea-biscuift 
— a jug ot tai.k water. The jug had a white body and a blue fringe. 

"Sergeant of Marines wearing sash and side-arms, carrying a dark-lan- 
tern, visited us at nine o'clock. Extinguished our lamp — swung his lantern 
in our laces — wished us good nig^it — locked the door — handed the key to 
the Captain. 

"Following morr.ing — July 10th — seven o'clock — off the Waterford coast. 
A beautiful bright morning. Will no one come out to hail me from Dunmore? 
I pass by, and ray own people know nothing of it." 

That was Meagher's heart-rending exclamation on taking his last look 
into the noble estuary of the Suir, — the river he was destined to see never 
more — save in dreams. It was not, however, the exile's last look on his 
native land. As the Swift held on her southern course from St. George's 
Channel into the Atlantic ocean, for a few brief hours longer, he feasted 
his eyes in succession on the familiar Bay of Tramore, the rock-bound coast 
around by Bunmahon to Clonea; still later, on the rugged spurs of the 



300 MEM01BS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 



Monavullagh Mountains with Cruachan in the foreground, — and, far !)ra . T,{ >,. 
nort h — cutting clear against the summer sky — the pyramidal peak of r .i$ek- 
meldown — caught his glance and held it tran sfixed ui.til it, too, iWk it 
blue forehead into the illimitable sea. 

Erin mavourneen, farewell. 



CHAPTER L. 



LIFE IN AUSTRALIA. 

I wish I was home in Ireland, 

For the flowers will Foon be thcr3, 
Clothing each vale and highland, 

And loading the perfumed air. 

For, in spite of the Saxon's scowlings, 

The land to my heart is dear; 
And to be but one day in Ireland 

Were worth a whole lifetime here. 

John Walsh. 

After an uneveutful voyage, the monotony of which was only relieved 
by a twenty-four hours' sojourn in Simon's Bay, Cape of Good Hope, the 
Irish exiles sighted the extreme southern point of Van Dieman's Land, on 
Saturday, the 28th of October. The following day the Swift came to anchor 
in Hobart Town harbor. The officers and most of the crew having gone 
ashore in the afternoon, the prisoners, under charge of a marine guard, 
had the deck to themselves, and watched, with much interest the numerous 
boats which put off from shore, and hovered round the ship — their inmates 
evidently anxious to get a glimpse of the distinguished strangers, — some of 
them — despite the threatening warnings of the sentry to "Keep oft"' — ven- 
turing in close to the gangway, enquiring "how the gentlemen were, and 
when they would come ashore?" 



LIFE IN AUSTRALIA. 301 



AN IRISH WELCOME. 



In hisflrgt letter from Australia, bearing date December 1st, 1849, and 
addressed ? a friend in Dublin, Meagher, referring to the scenes in Hobart 
Town harljj. savs: — 

"In al. these incidents, slight and fleeting as they were, we saw at 
once the ev len ce of a kindly feeling towards us ; and somehow we felt as 
though a f w warm whispers of the old Irish heart at home were floating 
through the air . Nor were we wrong in this, for, later, still, we heard in 
its full broa t0D e, the true expression of that old but faithful and endur- 
ing heart. , bou t seven o'clock O'Brien and I were walking up and down 
the quarter-i^ together, when a boat rowed by a fine young lad, and 
having two % omen in it, stole gently alongside. The sentry, however, was 
wide awake, uc i W as not long in telling them to ' be oft".' 

"'Ah! th tl , W hy should you be telliu' us to be oft", sentry my darlin', 
when you've th, best of the country aboard?' 

'•The accent an d the sentiment were not to be mistaken: so, O'Brien and 
1 moved forward to have a nearer view of the visitors. The moment they 
saw us, the elde a of the women — for one of them was rather old, and 
the other was b U h young and handsome — clapping her hands with the 
pocket-handkerchief between them — exclaimed : — 

"'Oh you're w^ CO me, you're welcome, Mr. O'Brien, you're welcome to 
us! though it's a qua. r e home you're coming to.* 

« Here the sentry considered it his duty to be a degree or two peremp- 
tory, and pitching his voice to a level with the conception, ordered the 
boat to 'be off,' and, ' n ot to be a minute about if, to do it sharp, in 
double quick time, they h*d better.' Upon which our poor countrywoman 
renewed her welcome, and adding, ' Shure it was a hard case not to get 
sight of the gentlemen at all,' wished us good night. 

"Next morning, along with a number of other women who had come 
for the officers' linen, she was found on board. She had a lo. g talk with 
O'Brien about Limerick and Clare, and the gentry on both sides of the 
Shannon from Tarbert to Doonas; for 'she knew them all well, that she 
did, and why not, when she was born, bred, and reared in Newarket-on- 
Fergus. where she had seen many a (bright May-day, and many a harvest- 
home, and cheerful Hallow-eve.' 

"To continue the story, her husband h':ad been in the 'troubles,' some 
years ago, a Whiteboy, or something of that bWt, and after he got his lib- 
erty, she came out to him, and brought 'that slip of a boy we saw in 
the boat, and his sister beside him,' along with hi er, all the way from the 



302 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS ME AG HE L 



Cove of Cork out here ; for she heard it was a beautiful climate. dn( j money 
in plenty, and mutton for nothing. So they took a farm, but th l6 uad times 

came, — there are bad times here as well as at home, says she, aud t hey 

had to come into town; and her husband was working for Mi, Somebody 
over the way, and she did a little in the mangling line; but t) iat -wouldn't 
have brought her on deck if Mr. O'Brien wasn't there for his coim trv and 
her starvin' poor. God help the crathurs!" 

AN OFFICIAL VISITOR. 

"On that evening we were informed that the Captain wis.]-, ed t0 gee ug 
in our saloon. Down we went and were, one by one, lormj^Hy introduced 
as an indispensable part of the lugubrious ceremony of tr; .importation, to 
the assistant comptroller of convicts, Mr. Wm. E. Nairn. j t £ r< Nairn in- 
formed us that he had received directions from his excellency t he Governor 
to communicate to us, that he had received from the S ecretarv of State 
for the Home Department instructions to grant us ' tick ets f leave' pro- 
vided that, in the first place, the Captain under whose. c ) iar o-e we were 
reported favorably on our conduct during the voyage; and ni t he seC ond 
place, that, previous to our receiving the tickets of lea ve we pi et ;,r e d our- 
selves as men of honor, not to make use of the limitcj f ee dom so conferred 
to escape from the island. 

" The Captain having reported favorably, it now remained for him (Mr. 
Nairn,) to receive the pledge required as an iudis ptusab i e condition to the 
tickets of leave. Having taken a few minutes r con sider the proposition, 
and conceiving the condition upon which we v ere t0 2- ece i V e it to be fair 
and honorable, I determined upon accepting tb/ e ticket f leave. 

" Mr. Nairn afterwards informed us, that each of us was to be ass ; gaed 
separate districts of the colony -no two > jeing al i owed t0 resitle together, 
or within the same district even; that Cf uupbelkowil had beeD ass iuned to 
me, Hobart Town to 0'D,nohoe, and N ew Norfolk t0 McManus; and that 
we were to remain on board until Wed Des day. Mr. O'Brien, having declined 
to accept the ticket of leave, Marie D,i aud was assigned to him. 

" The next day several gentlemen came on board t0 visit us; amon g S t them 
the Very Rev. Dr. Hall and thr. Rev> Mr> Duuu? both of them Catho i ic 
clergymen -the former Vicar-C eneral of the dioC ese; the latter a missionary 
at Richmond. Their manue r l0W ards us was most warm and affectionate, 
and their offers of kind serv iees unbounded. With such victors as these, 
you can hardly imagine t he pleasure with which the day passed over. Be- 



LIFE IN AUSTRALIA. 303 



sides, from day-break we had been on the look-out for O'Doherty and Martin, 
who were hourly expected from Sidney." 

Before day-break next morning the exiles were landed and took the 
coach on their way to their respective destinations. At 3 p. M. they arrived 
at Campbelltown, and there Meagher parted with his compatriots, who con- 
tinued their journey to Lauucest. A few days subsequently Meager settled 
down at Eoss, a little village seven miles from Campbelltown, but within 
the district. Here he was fortunate in forming the acquaintance of an Irish 
genileman — who afterwards proved himself a sincere and warm friend, 
— without whose occasional companionship his life in Ross would be 
" as lonesome as that of the most secluded hermit.'' His mornings and 
evenings were devoted to his books; during the intervening hours he "took 
a gallop through the ' bush ' in quest of a kangaroo, or a stroll on foot 
along the banks of the Maquarie." 

After two months' experience of this strange life, Meagher, in a letter 
to Mr. Duffy dated February, 1850, reverting to the subject of his former 
communication — continues : — 

u So far, then, you see, I have no complaint to make with regard to 
our present fate — dull, and bleak, and wearisome as it is. But I do com- 
plain, that, having separated us by so many thousand miles of sea from 
all that was dear, consoling, and inspiring to our hearts, they should have 
increased the severity of ttiis punishment by distributing us over a strauge 
land, in which the most gratifying friendships we could form would com- 
pensate us poorly for the loss of the warm familiar companionship we so 
long enjoyed. There is McMauus away in New Norfolk, O'Douohoe in Ho- 
bart Town, O'D gherty in Oatlands, Martin in Bothwell, Meagher in Camp- 
belltown, O'Brien off there in Marie Island. Each has a separate district, 
and out of that district there is no redemption. 

"Now, generally speaking, a "'district" is about the size of a repect- 
able country parish at home. Mine, for instance, extends from thirty to 
thirty-live miles in length, and varies Irons ten to fifteen in breadth. At 
the end of a fortnight I came to the conclusion, that between a prison and 
a "district" there was just about the same difference as exists between a 
stable and a paddock. In the one you are tied up by a halter — in the other 
you have the swing of a tetner. 

" Within the last five weeks, however, Martin. O'Doherty and I have 
discovered a point common to our three respective districts, at which, with- 
out a breach of the regulation prohibiting any two or more of us from 
residing together, we can meet from time to time. 



304 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

"This fortunate point is on the edge of a noble lake, twenty-four miles 
from Eoss, up in a range of mountains known as the 'Western Tier.' 
O'Doherty has to ride twenty miles to it, and Martin five-and-twenty. Mon- 
day is usually our day of meeting, and eleven, or thereabouts, the hour 
at which we emerge from three different quarters of the '• bush,'' and come 
upon the ground. 

"The point itself is a small, cosy, smoky bit of a log-hut. inhabited 
by a solitary gentleman named Cooper. The hut is fifteen leet by ten, and 
high enough to admit in an upright position of any reasonable extension of 
legs, spine, hat, and shirt-collar. The furniture consists of something to 
sleep on — I don't know what to call it; a table, very weak in the extrem- 
ities; two stools, a block for splitting chops upon; a shelf, three feet in 
length, and furnished with a couple of pewter plates, a gunpowder flask 
full of pepper, three breakfast cups, a carving knife, a breakfast knife, forks 
to match, a tract upon Foreign Missions, and two columns of a Sunday Ob- 
server, bearing a remote date. 

" Here we dine, and spend the evening up to half-past five o'clock, when 
we descend the • Tier,' and betake ourselves to our r» spective homes. Whilst 
the preparations for the dinner are going on, we are rambling along the shores 
of the lake, talking of old times, singing the old songs, weaving fresh hopes 
among the old ones that have ceased to bloom. 

" You cannot picture to yourself the happiness which the days we have 
spent by that lonely, glorious lake have brought us. They have been sum- 
mer days, all of them ; and through the sunshine have floated the many- 
colored memories, the red griefs, the golden hopes of our sad, beautiful 
old country. 

"Oh! should hearts grow faint at home, and, in the cold, dark current 
of despair, fling down the hope they once waved, like a sacred torch, ou 
high ; tell them that here, in this strange land, and in the loneliest haunts 
and pathways of it — here by the shores of a lake where as yet no sail 
has sparkled, and few sounds of human life as yet have scared the wild 
swan, or startled the black snake from its nest — tell them that here, upon 
a lone, lone spot in the far Southern Seas, there are prayers full of confi- 
dence, and faith and love, offered up for Ireland's cause; and that the belief 
in her redemption and her glory has accompanied her sot.s to their place 
of exile, and there, like some beautiful and holy charm, abides with them; 
filling the days of their humble solitude with calm light, and joyous melo- 
dies, and visions of serene and radient loveliness.'" 

In April, 1S50, John Mitchel arrived in Van Dieman'3 Land. Owing to 



LIFE IN AUSTRALIA. 305 



the poor state of his health he was permitted to take up his residence 
with John Martin in the Bothwell district, and thenceforward they habitu- 
ally attended the re-unions at Lake Sorell together. McManus, too, in 
defiance of the boundary limits, occasionally traveled over sixty miles from 
his district to enjoy a few hours* companionship with his beloved friends. 
But, after all, their life in Australia was becoming intolerable. Mitchel 
characteristically referred to it as "a kind of sincope or trance," their 
movements as "somnambulistic,'' and their "apparent doings and sayings 
as sick men's dreams." 

From their first arrival in Van Dieman's Land all the Irish patriots had 
been subjected to various petty persecutions by the authorities. O'Brien's 
health suffered so severely from his treatment en Marie Island, that his 
physician pronounced his life in imminent danger, unless he consented to 
accept a " ticket of leave," and remove to a healthier district. He accord- 
ingly did as recommended, and chose New Norfolk as his future place of 
residence. Meagher went to see him there, and, for daring to do so, he 
was confined a prisoner in his own house for some time. McManus had 
his parole revoked by the arbitrary order of Governor Dennison, and was 
taken into custody, but was released, in spite of the Governor, by order of 
the Supreme Court, and then, without accepting a fresh " ticket of leave," 
— by the aid of friends — obtained passage on a vessel to San Francisco." 

Some short time after McManus effected his escape, — or, on the 22d of 
February, 1851, — Meagher got married to a Miss Bennett, a most beautiful 
young lady, the daughter of a farmer residing near New Norfolk. He built' 
a pretty cottage on the shore of Lake Sorell. and removed with his bride 
thereto. For the next year he led a life that the majority of men would 
consider happy. But Meagher was no song-bird to be content to dwell in a 
pretty cage; his free-born spirit would not be circumscribed by any extent 
of territory over which the flag of England dominated. 

But, as it was, the baleful influence of that detested power was exerted 
to mar his tranquility, — pursuing him even into that, lonely little nest in 
the wilderness; and so he determined to free himself once for all, from its 
thraldom, at any risk, and at any sacrifice. 

A week before he made the final stroke for liberty, he signified his 
determination to his friend, Mr. Duffy — in the following letter : — 

" Lake Sokell, Van Dieman's Laud. ) 

December 27th, 1851. ) 
' Mr Dear Duffy: — 

"In great histe I have sat down to tell you that I am determined to 



306 MEMOUIS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHEll 

withdraw my parole — throw up my " ticket of leave"— and afterwards 

attempt my escape. 

***************** 

"I seek some land in which a useful aud honorable career will be ope 
to me, and where, free from the galling restrictions which beset and ham- 
per me at every step, and yet more, galling indignities which intrude them- 
selves even into the sanctuaiy of my humble home. 1 may fiud generous 
and creditable employment for whatever energies I possess through the good- 
ness of God. 

"With fervent hope that, with His aid and blessing, 1 shall have the 
delight of writing my next letter to you under the shadow and protection 
of the flag of Washington, and with fondest remembrance to Maurice Leyne, 
and all my other dear and devoted friends, 
" Believe me. 

"My dear Duffy, ever to remain, 
" Whatever be my fate, 

" Your faithful and affectionate friend, 

"T. F. Meagher." 

HOW MEAGHER EFFECTED HIS ESCAPE. 

In the following letter, written a few days after Mr. Meagher's arrival 
in Xew York, the illustrious exile related the manner in which his escape 
from Van Dieman's Land was effected: — 

" Glen Cove, Saturday. June 5. 1S52. 
" To the Editor of the New York Daily Times : — 

"Dear Sin, — In consequence of some misstatements regarding my 
escape, which I have just seen in two or three of the European papers, 
and which appear to have been copied from an Australian paper, 1 think 
it right to set the facts before the American public, to whom alone I now 
hold myself responsible. 

"The remarkable kindness ] have experienced irom the press and the 
public generally, ever since my arrival in this noble country, aud the anxiety 
I feel to have it understood that I am not deficient in the honorable spirit 
which qualifies a stranger to become its citizen, compel me to break the 
silence which no act or wor 1, on the part of my enemies, could ever 
disturb. 

"The facts are these ; 



THE ESCAPE. 307 



"In the month of April, 1851, I was called upon to renew my paroU. 
I did so in writing, and in the following words : 

" ' I hereby pledge my word of honor not to leave the colony so long as I 
ttold a ticket of leave.'' 

" 1 handed this pledge to the Police Magistrate in the open court. Any- 
one can see it who desires to refer to it. 

" Towards the end of December, the same year, 1 came to the determi- 
nation of attempting my eseape. Accoidiugly, on the 3d of January last, 
I sent the following letter to the Police Magistrate of the district in which 
I resided : 

" ' Lake Sorell, District of Campbelltown, ) 
"'Saturday, January 3, 1852. ) 

"'Sir: — Circumstances of a recent occurrence urge upon me the neces- 
sity of resigning my ticket of leave, and consequently withdrawing my 
parole. 

" ' I write this letter, therefore, respectfully to apprise you, that after 
12 o'clock to-morrow noon, I shall no longer consider myself bound by the 
obligation which that parole imposes. 

"'In the meantime, however, should you conceive it your duty to take 
me into custody, I shall, as a matter of course, regard myself as wholly 
absolved from the restraint which my word of honor to your Government 
at present inflicts. 

" ' I have the honor to be, sir, 

"'With sincere lespect, 

'"Your obedient servant, 

" ' Thomas Francis Meagher. 
" ' To the Police Ilagistrate of the District of Campbelltown ' " 

"The Police Magistrate received this letter at 11 o'clock the same mor- 
ning:—! remained in my cottage, at Lake Sorell, until 7 o'clock that even- 
ing. A few minutes after that hour, four of my friends arrived on horse- 
back, and communicated to me the intelligence that the police were coming 
to arrest me. 1 svent out with them into the bush, and remained there, 
about three hundred yards from the cottage, until my servant brought the 
news that the police had arrived, and were sitting in the kitchen. 

"We mounted our horses immediately, and rode down to the cottage. 
One hundred yards from it my friends drew up. I rode on until I came 
close to the stable, which was within pistol shot of the kitchen door. 1 



3vS ME MO IBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

drew up there, and desired the servant to go in and tell the police I was 
waiting for them. He did so. Two or three minutes elapsed. The police 
appeared. The moment they appeared I rose in my stirrups, and called 
out that I was the prisoner they came to arrest, and I defied them to 
do so. This challenge was echoed by my friends with three loud and hearty 
cheers, in the midst of which I struck spurs to my horse, and dashed into 
Tht wood, in the direction of the coast. Accompanied by my generous and 
courageous-hearted friends, I reached the sea-shore on Monday afternoon, at a 
point where a boat was in readiness to receive me. I jumped from my 
horse, got into the boat, put off to sea, and beat about there for a few days, 
until the ship came up, which, thank God! bore me at last, to a free and 
hospitable land. 

" In plain words, these are the plain facts of the case. As I have writ- 
ten them here, they were written by one of my friends, at the house where 
we changed horses on our way to the coast. The manuscript containin 
them was forwarded next morning, Tuesday, to the editor of the leading 
journal of the colony, and bore the names of my friends, written by their 
own hands, in attestation of its truth. The gentleman to whom it was sent, 
was instructed not to publish the names that were attached to it. He was 
however, at the same time, requested to inser.t the document itself in the 
next number of his paper, and was left at full and perfect liberty to show 
the signatures to any person who might wish to be satisfied upon the sub- 
ject, and would pledge his honor not to abuse the confidence reposed in 
him, by involving the parties concerned in any legal difficulty. 

" The men who vouched with their signatures for the truth of the state- 
ment then made, and now repeated, are men of considerable property and 
highly creditable position in the colony, and no one there would be rash 
enough to speak a single word derogatory of their honor. 
"I have the honor to be 

il Your faithful and grateful servant, 

" Thomas Francis Meagher." 

The boat on which Meagher embarked was owned and manned by two 
poor fishermen, who had been engaged by his friends to convey him to 
one of the uninhabited little islands that dot the Straits which separate 
Van Dieman's Land from the great island of Australia. The island in question 
was known on the chart as " Waterhouse Island." It had been arranged 
that he was to await there the arrival of the ship which was to convey 
him to a land of liberty. Though only four miles from the nearest point 
of Van Dieman's Land, it was over forty from the boat's point of departure, 



MEAGHER IN AMEBIC A. 309 

and it entailed a most perilous pa-sage of several hours, through a wild 
sea, before a landing was effected thereon. On the island a new peril con- 
fronted him. 

The ship that was to take Meagher off was to have arrived off the 
island the morning after he had landed there; but, after waiting until the 
evening of the third day — and no sail appearing — the boatmen were obliged 
to return to the main land for a fresh supply of provisions, leaving their 
passenger alone on the desolate, storm-swept fragment of creation for seven 
days longer, — most of which time he subsisted on sea-bird's eggs and shell- 
fish. 

On the tenth day of his lonely vigil he was startled by the firing of a 
gun; and on looking out to sea he perceived a ship standing in close to 
the island and shortening sail. The captain was in the rigging waving a 
white handkerchief. Rounding a point of the island the vessel dropped her 
anchors, and the passenger taken on board. In another hour the Elizabeth 
Thompson, Captain Betts, was careering across the Pacific on her way to 
London — via Cape Horn. 

In due time Meagher arrived at Pernambuco. from whence he took pas- 
sage for the. United States in the American brig Acorn. He arrived in New 
York May 26th, 1852, under the protection of that glorious flag whose 
supremacy he so nobly upheld in after years. 



CHAPTER LI. 



MEAGHER IN AMERICA. 

"And now began the second part of Meagher's life; his American life. He had 
always admired and loved the Great Republic; the American flag had generally floated 
from the stern of the "Speranza" on Lake Sorell; and he came to this land with the 
ardent desire and resolute intention to bear that flag aloft against all enemies, but espe- 
cially and particularly against our hereditary enemy — England." — From "Reminiscences 
of Thomas Francis Meagher, by John Mitohel. 

Save Lafayette alone, no foreign-born visitor to this Republic was 
ever accorded such a generous, hearty, and spontaneous welcome, as that 



310 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

given to Thomas Francis Meagher on his arrival in New York. For several 
weeks, invitations to public receptions poured in upon him from all quar- 
ters of the Union. They came from State Legislatures and Municipal author- 
ities; all — on behalf of their constituents, the Sovereign People — tendering 
him a Freeman's welcome to Freedom's Land. Even after it became known 
that he declined the acceptance of public ovations, he was daily in receipt 
of numerous letters of congratulation and welcome, from individual admirers 
of his past career — his genius, his nobility of heart, his efforts in behalf 
of his country's liberty, and his indomitable spirit under the tribulations he 
endured for that country's cause. 

But if his advent among them was a source of such jubilation to the 
free-born citizens of this "Befuge of the Oppressed," it may be imagined 
with what intensity of passionate affection and triumphant pride it was hailed 
by the children of his own race, as the heart-felt " Thnnk God!" was rev- 
erently breathed from the quivering lips of millions for the restoration of 
their best-beloved brother — the glory and pride of their old Mother land. 

Since the first rumor of his escape from Australia had reached them, 
they anxiously waited, day after day, for the confirmation of the report — 
which, they felt, — would eventually result in his coming to take his proper 
place as the standard-bearer of his exiled compatriots, around whom all 
would hopefully and enthusiastically rally to renew the "'old fight." 

The satisfaction of those Irish exiles was all the more exuberant from 
the fact that, while Meagher was still at sea. under the starry banner, a 
"Memorial for the exercise of clemency towards the Irish exiles," was 
presented to the Irish Lord Lieutenant by a deputation headed by the Lord 
Mayor of Dublin. L'ut, although this " beggar's petition" was said to be 
signed by " nine peers, fifteen Catholic Bishops, nineteen baronets, forty-two 
members of parliament, sixty-six deputy-lieu tenants, two hundred and eighty- 
eight magistrates, eleven high sheritls, a id over five hundred dignitaries and 
clergymen of all denominations, and ten thousand other names, comprising 
some of the most distinguisl ed men of the country," it was, nevertheless, 
rejected in terms characterized as "needlessly harsh and insulting." 

In plain words, the British Viceroy told the.se self-constituted insulters of 
Ireland's expatriated patriots, that the objects of their solicitude "had never 
expressed contrition for their crime;" and he supplemented this piece of 
information with the stinging truth — that must have made the ears of the 
fawning hypocrites tingle— that, — " many who now advocated their pardon, 
would turn from them with abhorrence if they had not been prevented from 



31EAGHER IN AMERICA. 311 

carrying their designs into execution by the defensive measures of the Gov- 
ernment. "* 

Well! in despite of British Queen or Irish Flunkey, here — among the 
men of his race and heart — stood one self-en Irauchised, unrepentant scorner 
of tyrant, hypocrite, and slave. 

For which the "Lord in Heaven be praised!" 

How the News Was Announced in England. 

As an instance of the despicable shifts to which the organs of the 
British government could resort to minimize the importance of Meagher's 
arrival in America, it was recorded in the newspapers of the day, that, — 
when the vessel which brought the account of the patriot's arrival in 
New York had reached Liverpool, it was telegraphed to the London Times, 
and published in large capital letters in that paper, that " No notice, of 
any moment was taken of Thomas Francis Meagher, and that he was only 
waited on by a few obscure individuals!" 

Even thus sugar-coated, the bitter pill must have been swallowed with 
a horrible grimace by the bucolic Britisher. How it agreed with him when 
its true inwardness was manifested by his rising gorge, may be well imag- 
ined by those who know the "nature of the beast." 

Per Contra — How Ireland Viewed It. 

The joy experienced by the Irish at home at the news of Meagher's 
safe arrival in America, can only be imagined by those thoroughly familiar 
with their sensitive nature, and the place which he occupied in their affec- 
tions. They could not give full vent to the exuberance of their spirits after 
the manner of their countrymen in America. They could not throng around 
him in green-coated battalions, with flashing bayonets and rolling drums, 
but they loved him as well as their enfranchised brothers, and they gloried 



* This exhibition of Impotent malevolence on the part of the arrogant representative 
or "her gracious Majestj," had its parallel — twenty years later — in the British Parlia- 
ment, on the occasion ot the debate on a motion for the release of the military Fenian con- 
viets who were transported to Australia. Then, also, — true to their established policy In 
dealing with the "Irish Encmn," — ihe crown officials— gloating In savage triumph over 
tin Buff rings of the men who (they fancied,) were still in their power, —contemptuously 
refu.>ed to relax tieir hold on their prey — and this at the very hour when, by the inter- 
position of Providence — and the devotion of liberty-loving American citizens — their res- 
cued victims were being joylully welcomed— as was Meagher — to the "Land of the Free!" 



312 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

in the hope that the day might come in God's good time, when they, too, 
might greet him in Freedom's panoply — 

" The Green Flag flying o'er them." 

The following from the Nation — the true exponent of the popular heart 

— and from the pen of a patriot tried and true as Meagher himself — will 
serve to convey, —as far as words could do so, the sentiments of the mil- 
lions of exultant Celts who still cluug to their native soil, and to the hope 
of once again reclaiming their God-given inheritance : — 

" Meagher in America. 

"After a weary voyage of four months' duration, Thomas F. Meagher 
is at length under the shadow and protection of the Flag of Washington. 
Heaven has blessed and prospered his plans, and conducted him in salety 
and in honor to the free soil of America. 

" His dashing escape from the penal colony reads like the achievement 
of a cavalier of old. He did not, as the snarling retainers of the English 
government allege, compromise his parole in the most trivial particular. 

"One scarcely knows whether to admire the more the bold and rapid 
execution of Meagher's project, or the chivalrous fidelity of the noble Irish- 
man who refused to lay hands of outrage on the glorious young patriot. 
What a true heart was it that beat under the uniform of the British police, 
and stubbornly defied authority when it called on him to commit a crime 
against his country ! It was the same spirit which prompted the Tipperary 
peasants in Clonmel Court-house to refuse evidence against the traitors on 
their trial, which in the far Antipodes animated this gallant mutineer, who 
would not violate the person of ' young Meagher,' as he fondlv called him. 

'•Meagher in America! What a triumph, what happiness in the words! 

" Oh ! many a time since the news of his flight first reached us have we 
been sick at heart, longing to receive this blessed message. Many a time 
have we with streaming eyes looked up to the throne' of God, and asked 
where was our dear brother? And now that there is an end to all anxiety 

— now that he has escaped the jealous searches of his gaolers and the mys- 
terious dangers of the seas — now that he is the guest of freemen and 
housed amongst his own countrymen — we can scarcely write for excess of 
joy; for the heart-strings of ourselves and of our country are wound about 
this illustrious son of Ireland. 

"Our dear brother! For three years and a half he was a chained and 
condemned criminal, in the hands of those whose fatal power decrees love 



MEAGHER IN AMEBIC A. 313 

of Ireland to be a mortal and unpardonable sin. For three years and a 
half he was subjected to all the restraints and ignominy of a criminal's 
fate, dead iu law to all privilege, to all society, an out-cast and a felon. 
Law had no pity for his youth; justice had no mercy for his glowing ge- 
nius. He had loved Ireland, he had pleaded and striven for Ii eland, and 
they judged him a reprobate, and banished him to the companionship of the 
demoniacal sinners against man and heaven. But the God of martyrs and 
of Ireland has plucked him from their grasp, and set him up before the 
world again as a hero and an apostle. 

il Meagher's arrival in America opens a new page in the history of Ire- 
land. We conceive a great career for him under the flag of Washington. 
He does not go to the great republic as a political notoriety, to drama- 
tise and win idle cheers. He does not go there as a political speculator, 
greedy of a noisy welcome and of the subsidies of a cosmopolitan patriot- 
ism. He does not go there to clamor about his personal wrongs, and to 
sacrifice his personal dignity to rhetoric and vanity. He does, not go there 
to rush upon the public stage, and die out exhausted in a month. He goes 
to fulfil a great destiny. He goes to work with a man's strength, and to 
achieve for himself the position which solid virtues and great abilities con- 
quer in every free state as their prerogative. He goes to combine and 
sway his countrymen by the spells of his glorious eloquence, and to renew 
amongst them, in a foreign land, the memories and traditions of Ireland, 
which dwell in his own poetic and heroic soul with love and reverence 

" Strong as the pillar towers, 
And deep as the hoiy wells." 

"He goes as the type of the Old Nation, to its exiles and its lovers, so 
they may sit down once more amongst their Household Gods; to be their 
legitimate chieftain and apostle. . He goes to lead and amalgamate the 
Irish race in America, till slow and patient discipline and God-sent oppor- 
tunity give them a potent voice in the destiny of Ireland. 

"We call on the Irish in America to recognize in Meagher's arrival among 
them the opening of a new era for Ireland and themselves. 

"And we call on the great Republic to welcome Thomas Meagher as it 
welcomed Addis Emmet. The wonderful Orator, whom we have lost, is now 
its citizen, and it will honor itself iu honoring him." 



31-4 MEMOIRS OF GEX. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



CHAPTER LII. 



A HAPPY REUNION. 

And doth not a meeting like this make amends 
For ail the long years I've been wandeiing away? 

Mooke. 

Meagher's first and warmest greeting in New York was from his per- 
sonal friends and compatriots — the refugees of *4S — then resident in that 
city and Brooklyn. Chief among these were Richard 0*Gorman and John 
Dillon, Thomas Devin Reilly, Michael Doheny, Doc:or Thomas Antisell, Jo- 
seph Brennan and John Savage. Every succeeding day brought others of 
his old Confederates — u men of the rank and file," to welcome the universal 
favorite of all — and give and take, a fraternal grasp. With them, too, 
came many of the best men of their race in America — men who admired 
their young countryman as much as any — though they had never seen his- 
face before. Among these latter, Captain Michael Phelan was the foremost. 
He was then one of the best known Irishmen in America, and was esteemed 
alike by his fellow-citizens of native or foreign birth. As one of the chief 
founders of the first Irish regiment raised in America — the old Ninth New 
York, Captain Phelan was particularly admired by the military element of 
his fellow countrymen, and by none more than the exiled Confederates, with 
most of whom he was on terms of close intimacy. 

On the day Mr. Meagher arrived in New York, Michael Phelan waited 
on him, and after stating who he was, and welcoming his illustrious coun- 
tryman to the "Land of the Free," he placed his pocket-book, containing 
all his available funds, in Meagher's hand, delieately requesting him to make 
use of its contents, until he could hear from his friends in Ireland. He 
of course surmised that, owing to the peculiar circumstances of Meagher's 
escape, he was likely to be in need of temporary assistance, and he pre- 
ferred that it should come from '"one of his own" rather than any other, 
and — 

"Ourselves by ourselves be befriended!" 

Meagher, however, assured him that he was in no immediate need of 
funds, and therefore he could not avail himself of his generous offer, but 



A HAPPY BE UNION. 315 



that he should ever remember it as one of the most gratifying incidents of 
his life. From thence forth the most intimate friendship existed between 
Those two noble-hearted patriots — until they were severed by death. 

After landing Meagher sought his friend, Devin Eeilly, and it was with 
him, at his plea-ant little home in Brooklyn, that he passed the first days 
of his life in America. And what joyous days these were. What jovial, affec- 
tionate, true-hearted comrades gathered around him — each recounting his 
experiences since they last met in the dear old land, and all exulting in 
the bright hopes of that land's future that his presence amongst them inspired. 
From the animated description of those cheery reunions given me, iu after 
years, by one of the participants — John Savage — I can, in fancy, picture the 
scene; I can again, as in life, see those dear familiar faces illuminated by 
their soul-speaking eyes — sparkling with fun, or flashing with passion — as 
the topics of the moment moved their impulsive Celtic natures. For the 
moment Meagher might imagine himself in that little cottage by Lake 
Sorell, surrounded by his exiled compatriots — when, in the flood-tide of 
their exuberant spirits they forgot in each other's society the destiny that 
separated them from the rest of the world. True, the illusion was of brief 
duration, and, when it was past, the cloud that hung perpetually over their 
spirits loomed all the denser for the sun-ray that momentarily pierced 
through the gloom. Now, however, in the society of comrades as fond and 
true as those he left benind him at the Antipodes, that joyous young heart 
could revel in the blessed sunlight of Freedom, in the happy consciousness 
that the •' cloud " —which cast its baleful shadow on his life's path — was 
dissipated for evermore. 

[Note. — John Savage — who first became known in Irish revolutionary 
history as one of the founders and contributors of the Irish Tribune, left 
Dublin for the South after the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and 
at the close of July, joined John O'Mahony in the neighborhood of Carrick- 
on-fluir. What the latter thought of his young recruit may be learned from 
the following extract taken from a letter to Meagher published in the 
Irish News of September 20th, 1S5G : — 

(Speaking of his associates in the movement — the writer says): 

" 3 have not yet learned to draw a line between their exertions and 
my own, so closely were they interwoven during the short time we were 
fellow-laborers in the cause of Irish revolution. 

" Foremost among my fellow-workers was our friend John Savage. Him 
I met lor the first time as he was looking for you, a few days after that 
night of gloom when you and I last parted with despairing hearts upon the 



316 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

side of Sliabh na mon. From that time until all our hopes were shattered, John 
Savage never flinched from the post of danger, nor was any duty left de- 
pendent upon him left undone. If the truth, fixedness of purpose, untiring 
work, and buoyant enthusiasm of any one man could have made up for 
the disadvantages resulting from youthful inexperience, want of previous 
political fame, and of not being known in the locality where he labored, 
could then have retrieved our cause, John Savage would have done it. He 
participated in all my plans, and attended all my midnight councils. He 
shared with me the bivouac upon the bleak hills, and partook of my hard 
bed in the rock-bound grot of Ballyquirkeen ; or, as we laid side by side 
in some fragiant meadow by its banks, we listened to the Suir's wild 
lullaby singing us to sleep.'' 

During his subsequent career in the United States, where his genius 
had free scope, John Savage won his meed of fame, as a poet, essayist, 
dramatist, orator and patriot. He was admired by the public for his acquire- 
ments and rectitude, and beloved by his associates for his genial heart and 
social spirit. Known to men of all classes in the social scale, he made hun- 
dreds of personal friends and no personal enemies. He was the recipient of 
much well-deserved praise; but he (.rightly) valued the above testimony to 
his youthful patriotism above all the rest combined. When his biography 
is written it will constitute the brightest gem in his fame's coronal, for it 
was the heart-offering of the man whose praise he most esteemed, and 
whose character he most revered among his compatriots.] 

MEETING THE LEADEK. 

At the time when the intelligence of Meagher's escape from Australia 
reached America, I was sojourning in a retired village in north-eastern New 
York. I did not hear of his arrival in the United States for several days 
after that event, when a shop-mate, who had been to Troy, brought me the 
welcome tidings— together with a newspaper containing the details of the -Jro- 
ceedings in New York city consequent on the hero's landing. Of course I 
lost no time in setting out to meet our "Young Leader" — now that I was 
certain to find him at last. On my anival in the city I went to the law 
office of Dillon and O'Gorman in the first place, with the two-fold purpose 
of paying my respects to the latter gentleman — whom I knew personally 
as President of the Swift Confederate Club, in Dublin, — and to leavn from 
him where I might find Mr. Meagher. 

Mr. O'Gorman gave me a cordial reception, and we had an interesting 
talk over the past vicissitudes and future prospects of the cause dearest to 



A HAPPY REUNION. 317 



our hearts. He told me that Mr. Meagher was then staying at Mr. Dillon's 
residence in Brooklyn, and gave me the address. 

On my calling at the hou?e I was received by a handsome and pleasant 
Irish servant girl, who, in response to my enquiry for Mr. Meagher, in- 
formed me that he was then out for a short walk, but would be back 
soon. On her invitation I took a seat to await his coming, and she kept 
me company. She was most enthusiastic in praise of Mr. Meagher — as was 
natural for an Irish girl to be — and it didn't take her long to find that I 
coincided in her opinions in his regard, so we became as familiar in a few 
minutes as if we were old acquaintances, and she questioned me as to my 
previous knowledge of the " young gentleman," where I had come from, 
&c. Our dialogue was something as follows : — 
" An' did you know Mr. Meagher in Ireland?" 
"I did!" 

"Were you living in the same place with him at home?" 
" Not exactly ; we were born in the same county — but more than thirty 
miles from each other." 

u An' so you're from the county Waterford, too?" 
"Yes! but it wasn't there 1 met Mr. Meagher, but in Dublin." 
"Are you long out in this country? and where did you come from 
now ? " 

" About two years and a half, — and I came from a place called Shu- 
shan, in this State." 

"I never hear tell of that place before — is it far from here?" 

"About two hundred miles, I think. 

"Two hundred miles! An' did you come all the ways a' purpose to 
see Mr. Meagher here in Brooklyn?" 

"I did! but sure, didn't he come nearly a hundred times as far to get to 
Brooklyn, where I can see him?" 

"That's true; but for all, you must think a deal of him to come so 
far to see him. —But tell me — maybe you're one of the boys that had to 
run away from Ireland after Mr» Meagher left it ! " 

"Yes! I'm one of them 'boys,' an' one that would be glad to run 
back to Ireland with him again ! " 

"Wisha! Give me the hand for that; — sure I wouldu't doubt you; and 
I bet 'tis Mr. Meagher will be glad to see you ! — But here's himself com- 
ing now : " And she ran to the door, which she had no sooner opened 
than she exclaimed : — 

"Oh! Mr. Meagher, I'm so glad you come. There's a young man, an 



31 S MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

old friend of yours from home, waiting for you, an' he came two hundred 

miles to see you; an'" 

But I didn't wait any longer — the girl's joyous lieht-heartedness was con- 
tagious, and we met at the entrance to the room with a simultaneous burst 
of laughter and a clasp of hands, as Meagher exclaimed — 

" So it's you are here ! I'm glad to meet you, my boy ! " 

" Sure I knew you would, sir," responded the girl as she retired laugh- 
ing, and left us to ourselves. 

Meagher's personal appearance at that interview has left a more vivid 
impression on my memory than it did on any other occasion either before 
or since. When I knew him in Ireland, he was a handsome, well-built, 
yoang fellow with genuine Celtic ffatures, laughing blue eyes, and dark 
brown, rather curly, hair. Now his form was much more robust in appear- 
ance, and his features bronzed by exposure to the southern sun, and the 
sea breezes during his circumnavigation of the globe — looked more manly 
and resolute. His carriage was as graceful and his step as light, firm, and 
elastic, as when I had seen him walk the streets of Dublin in company 
with his most intimate associates — Eichard O'Gorman or Patrick J. Smith. 
With the exception that, on this occasion, he wore a broad-leafed straw hat 
— his dress was nearly alike in style to that he usually wore in Ireland — 
a dark frock coat, light vest, and grey trousers. His youthful light-heart- 
edness and tone of voice had uudergone no perceptible change with the 
vicissitudes of his fortunes. Frank and free, he was his own old self — 
"Tom. Meagher!" — the best-beloved of his race and generation. 

After congratulating him on his escape, and trying to give expression to 
my exultation therefor, I, candidly, told him — what I always felt — that, for 
all he endured he may thank himself, — as, had he not allowed himself to 
be swayed from his own convictions on the question of rescuing John 
Mitchel, by his colleagues of the Council, the subsequent history of '48 
would be very different from what it was. 

'•They well knew,"' — I added, — ''that you meant to fight them, and 
they knew also, that if you called on the *Clubs to follow you they would 
have done so enthusiastically — regardless of their (the Council's; action — 
or inaction. They calculated the chances — and deeming them desperate, they, 
prudently, resolved not to run the risk — but they also shrank from the dis- 
agreeable duty of themselves facing their constituents in their several club- 
rooms, and neutralizing the teachings they had been inculcating for the pre- 
ceding three months — and so they appealed to you — they threw the responsi- 
bility on you of dashing down the hopes you had done so much to raise — or 



RESPONSE TO AME PICA'S WELCOME. 319 

of accepting the alternative. — on your own shoulders — of what they feared 
would be an overwhelming disaster. You yielded your convictions — less to 
their arguments than to their beseechings, and in doing so, proved the 
club-men's devotiou to you by a harder test than if you had — in conso- 
nance with your own wishes and theirs — asked them to follow you to the 
storming of Newgate or Dublin Castle." 

His reply showed that he concurred in my opinion, for he earnestly 
exclaimed : — 

" You may be sure, my boy, that if it was to be done over again, I 
would not do it." 

From retrospections of lost opportunities, we turned to a contemplation 
of the bright prospects of the future of the "old cause" — consequent upon 
his arrival in America. For, there was no denying the self-evideut fact, 
that, on him were centred the hopes of his exiled fellow-countrymen ou 
this continent, to unite them in one solid, organized body for the attainment 
of Ireland's freedom. 

He expressed his determination to do all in his power to aid in carry- 
ing out that object, as soon as he could see his way. At the time, he was 
greatly encouraged by the success which attended the efforts of his old asso- 
ciates in creating Irish military organizations having that ultimate purpose 
in view, and would heartily cooperate in the work. After a long and agree- 
able interview my first meeting in America with our "Young Leader" ter- 
minated, with an understanding that we should soon see each other again. 



CHAPTER LIU. 



MEAGHER'S RESPONSE TO AMERICA'S WELCOME. 

Soon after his arrival in America, a committee from the Corporation of 
New York waited on Mr. Meagher, at the Astor House, and presented him 
with a certified copy of the resolutions adopted by both Boards of the 



320 31EM0IRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

Common Council, requesting his acceptance of a public reception, and the 
hospitalities of the City of New York. 

Mr. Meagher delivered the following reply : — 

"Gentlemen : — Had the effort in which I lost my freedom been success- 
ful, the honors now tendered would not surprise me. But it was otherwise. 
Far from realizing, it obscured, the hopes which accompanied and inspired 
it — ending suddenly in discomfiture and defeat. This the wide world knows. 
This you yourselves must inwardly admit, though the goodness of your na- 
ture will seal your lips to the admission, being fearful of the disparage- 
ment it would imply. The gratitude of a people is most bounteous. It is 
quick to appreciate, to encourage, to reward. Never slow or stinted in the 
measure it pours out, its fault is to be too precipitate and profuse. Esti- 
mating merit not by the severe standard of success, it takes motives into 
consideration, regardless of the fortune which attends them, and for what- 
ever sacrifices they have entailed, awards a great equivalent. 

" In this the gratitude of a people differs from the gratitude of Kings. 
With the latter, success is an essential condition of excellence. Pensions, 
Knightly decorations, orders of nobility, these are given by kings in ex- 
change only for the trophies which decorate their halls, or the acquisitions 
which widen the surface of their dominion. 

"Not so with a people, as I have said. They do not barter and econ- 
omise their gilts. Whatever the result, be the motive upright, be the deed 
honorable, and their favois are forthcoming. Moreover, it sometimes hap- 
pens that where disaster has most grievously befallen, there their sympa- 
thies are most evoked, and their treasures most plenteously bestowed. — 
This it is which explains the proceedings, in my regard of the noble city 
you represent. I have sought to serve my country, and been anxious to 
contribute to her freedom. This I shall not assume the modesty to deny. 
Long before I mingled in the strife of politics, it was my ambition to be 
identified with the destiny of my country — to share her glory, if glory 
were decreed her — to share her suffering and humiliation, if such should 
be her portion. 

"For the little I have done and suffered I have had my reward in the 
penalty assigned me. To be the last and humblest name in the litany which 
contains the names of Emmet and Fitzgerald — names which waken notes of 
heroism in the coldest heart, and stir to lofty purposes the most sluggish 
mind — is an honor which compensates me fully for the privations 1 have 
endured. Any recompense, of a more joyous nature, it would ill become 
me to receive. Whilst my country remains in sorrow and subjection, it 



RESPONSE TO AMERICA'S WELCOME. 



would be indelicate of me to participate in the festivities you propose. 
When she lifts her head, and nerves her arm for a bolder struggle — when 
she goes forth, like Miriam, with song and timbrel to celebrate her victory 
— I, to, shall lift up my head, and join in the hymn of freedom. Till then 
the retirement I seek will best accord with the love I bear her. and the 
sadness which her present fate inspires. 

"Nor do I forget the companions of my exile. My heart is with them 
at this hour, and shares the solitude in which they dwell. The freedom 
that has been restored to me is embittered by the recollection of their cap- 
tivity. While they are in prison a sh.idow rests upon my spirit, and the 
thoughts that might otherwise be free. throb heavily within me. It is 
painful for me to speak. I should feel happy in being permitted to 
be silent. For these reasons, you will not feel displeased with me for 
declining the honors you solicit me to accept. Did I esteem them less, I 
should not consider myself so unworthy, nor decline so conclusively to 
enjoy them. The privileges of so eminent a city should be sacred to those 
who personify a great and living cause — a past full of fame, and a future 
lull of hope — and whose names are prominent and imperishable. 

"It pains me deeply to make this reply, being sensible of the enthusi- 
asm which glows around me, and the eagerness with which a public oppor- 
tunity of meeting me has been awaited. I know it will disappoint a great 
anxiety, but the propriety of the determination I have come to is proved 
by the inefficiency of this consideration to overcome me. 

" 1 know, too, that as it grieves me, it will grieve others, and that, 
perhaps, the motives that have led to it may be misunderstood, misconstrued, 
and censured. But I am confident that, after a little while the public judg- 
ment will sanction the act which a due regard to what I owe my country, 
my companions, and myself, seriously dictates. Yet, so far as your invita- 
tion recognizes the fidelity with which I adhered, and still adhere, to the 
good and glorious cause, be assured that it has not been exaggerated or 
misplaced. 

" The feelings and convictions which influenced my career in Ireland, 
have undergone no change. Still, as ever, I perceive within my country the 
faculties that fit her for a useful and honorable position, and believing 
that they require only to be set in motion to prove successful, 1 still would 
prompt her to put them forth. Besides, there is within me a pride that 
cannot be subdued — there is within me an ambition that cannot be appeased. 
1 desire to have a country which shall work out a fortune of her own, and 
depend no longer for subsistence on the charity of other nations. 1 desire 
21 



322 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

to have a country which I can point to with exultation— whose prosperity 
shall be my life — whose glory shall be my guerdon. I desire to have a 
country which shall occupy a beneficent position in the world, and by her 
industry, intellect, integrity and courage, shall contribute, in community 
with all free nations, to the common happiness and grandeur of humanity. 

"Hopes may have darkened, but the destiny, to which I would see my 
country lifted, is before me still — a height, like that of Thabor, crowned 
with an eternal sun. It is a bold ambition, but in this fine country I could 
have none other. The moment we set our foot upon her shore, we behold 
the offspring of freedom — the energy, the thrift, the opulence to which she 
has given birth — and, at a glance, we comprehend her fruitfulness, utility, 
and splendor. We behold the wonders she has wrought — the deformed trans- 
formed — the crippled Colony springing into the robust proportions of an 
Empire which Alexander might have sighed to conquer — the adventurous 
•pirit of her sons compensating by its rapidity, in little more than half a 
century, for the thousands of years in which the land lay still in the shadow 
of the ancient forests — we behold all this, and the worship of our youth 
becomes more impassioned and profound. 

"To this land I came, as an outcast, to seek an honorable home — as 
an outlaw to claim the protection of a flag that is inviolable. By one of 
the wisest and mildest of the ancient legislators it was decreed that all 
those who were driven forever from their own country should be admitted 
into the citizenship of Athens. On the same ground, in virtue of the sen- 
tence of perpetual banishment which excludes me from my native land, I 
sought a quiet sanctuary in the home of Washington. 

"To no other land could the heart, which has felt the rude hand of 
tyranny, so confidently turn for a serene repose. Long may she prosper — 
gathering into the bosom of her great family, the children of all nations — 
adding to her territory, not by the sword of the soldier or the subtlety of 
the statesman, but by the diffusion of her principles, and the consonance 
of her simple laws and institutions, with the good sense and purer aspira- 
tions of mankind. 

" Long may she prosper — each year adding to her stock of strength and 
dignity, and wisdom, and high above her countless fleets and cities, even to the 
last generation may the monument of her liberty be descried! In the darkest 
storm which shakes the. thrones and dynasties of the old world, may it 
stand unscathed. In the darkest night which falls upon the arms of a 
struggling people, may it shine forth like the cross in the wilderness, and 
be to them an emblem of hope and a signal of salvation." 



CITIZEN SOLDIERS HONOR THE EXILE. 323 



CHAPTER LIV. 



THE CITIZEN SOLDIERS HONOR THE EXILE. 

The tribune's tongue and poet's pen 
May sow the seed in prostrate men; 
But 'tis the soldier's sword alone 
Can reap the crop so bravely sown! 
No more I'll sing nor idly pine, 
But train my soul to lead a line — 
A soldier's life's the life for me — 
A soldier's death, so Ireland's iree! 

DAVI8. 

Though, for the reasons set forth in his reply to the addrj^s from the 
civic authorities of New York, Mr. Meagher saw fit to decnue public ova- 
tions in general, he could not refrain from accepting the compliments ten- 
dered him by the citizen soldiers of the metropolis. The first of these came 
in the form of an invitation from Major-General Sanford, commanding the 
First Division of the New York State Militia, and the Mayor of the city, 
requesting the illustrious exile to participate in the review of the Na- 
tional Guards of New York on the ensuing Fourth of July. 

On that occasion, when the soldiers passed in review through the City 
Hall Park the Mayor conducted Mr. Meagher to the Governor's Room, from 
the window of which he reviewed the pageant. It was to him a novel and 
exhilirating sight, for there, for the first time in his life, he saw the glo- 
rious sun of July stream on the flashing bayonets of the " Boys who wore 
the green ! " 

How his own eyes spaikled and his heart heaved, as, to the spirit- 
stirring notes of '-St. Patrick's Day!" his armed countrymen marched 
proudly before hiui. There was a fair contingent of them — both horse and 
foot. The -'Irish Dragoons," the "Brigade Lancers," the "Jackson Horse 
Guards," and the "Montgomery Troop," contrasted favorably with then- 
brothers on foot — the Ninth and Sixty-Ninth Regiments, the " Montgomery 



324 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

Guards," the "Emmet Guards," and the " Irish- American Guards." No 
wonder his exultant feelings found vent in the passionate exclamation : — 

" Would to God we had these men upon the old sod, and the hope of 
Wolfe Tone would be fulfilled!" 

At the conclusion of the review, General Sanford invited Mr. Meagher 
to his house to meet the officers of the First Division, by whom he was 
most enthusiastically welcomed, — one of the leading toasts proposed on the 
occasion being — 

" The health of Thomas Francis Meagher — a traitor to England, but the 
young and devoted champion of Irish liberty, to the cause of ichich we drink 
tg* speediest success!'" 

Castle Garden, July 27th, 1852. 

We're Irish all over to-night here, and Irish we'll be evermore. 

Patkick. 

The feelings which the appearance of the Irish soldiers in the Fourth 
of July parade evoked in Meagher's heart, determined his old compatriots — 
(to whose enthusiastic labors for the preceding three years the success of 
the Irish military organizations was to be chiefly credited,) — to convoke, a 
general muster of all such organizations in New York and its vicinity for. 
the special purpose of honoring the foremost man of their race on the 
American continent. The Battery Park was selected as the place on which 
the Parade and review was to take place, while it was decided to present 
the young chief with an address from the military in Castle Garden. 

The 27th of July was the day appointed for the muster. 

Never before was there such a numerous body of Irish-Ameiican soldiers 
assembled together; for, in addition to the New York organizations that 
participated in the Fourth of July parade, there were present, contingents 
from Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Jersey City, Newark, and Paterson. It was, 
in truth, a great muster of the exiled children of the Gael for not only 
was every foot of the Battery Park — not required for the purpose of the 
parade — occupied by an enthusiastic crowd of the Young Tribune's coun- 
trymen and countrywomen, but the space outside the railings was taken 
up by quadruple lines of the same element — anxious, of course, to see and 
applaud their ik Bowld Soldier Boys!" but far more eager to obtain one 
sight of the man in whose honor this grand assemblage had gathered from 
every quarter of the city, and its environs. 



CITIZEN SOLDIERS HO NOB THE EXILE. 325 

After reviewing the troops Mr. Meagher, accompanied by some intimate 
friends, proceeded to Castle Garden in order to receive the address of the 
citizen-soldiers, and to reply thereto. 

After the military had filed into the Garden and taken their places in 
the parquette, admission by ticket was given for the platform and gallery, 
until the immense building was filled to its utmost extent. 

The address on the part of his fellow-soldiers was delivered by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Doheny,— and most appropriately so,— for no other man labored 
more earnestly and effectively in creating and perfecting the Irish military 
organizations present, and no other was so well qualified to express their 
sentiments towards their illustrious countryman — and the cause he so faith- 
fully represented. 

Lieut. Colonel Doheny's Address. 

" Sir : — The object of those who are here to greet you is not vain dis- 
play. They do not tender you an ovation. They have no boast to make 
either for themselves or you. They commemorate no triumph. They de- 
sire solely to congratulate and to welcome you. In doing this, they seize 
the occasion to attest the purity of your aims, the sincerity of your efforts, 
and the heroism of your sacrifice. You aspired to the complete deliverance 
of your country; you bid her rise in her might and in her wrath and win 
a free destiny or a glorious grave. 

"The effort to which you urged her was Titanic, but the inspiration of 
a lofty purpose fully justified it. The memory of cruel wrong, the promise 
of a bright future, filled the fountain of your inspiration to overflowing; 
your language gushed forth a flood of fire, purifying whatever it touched, 
and impelled by its vitality, the country seemed to spring heavenward. 

"Discomfiture followed, and you sealed your devotion with your life. 
The doom of ' treason ' you heard with no dismay, and in its gloom you 
pronounced a hope forever immortal. You had measured the ' valley of the 
shadow of death ' and became another witness, as it were, from a less err- 
ine.' world, of your country's imperishable fidelity to liberty. We share that 
hope. We take pride in it ; it shall light us through the future. 

" Brave men may be stricken down in battle. The heroic are not guar- 
anteed against defeat; and even though they may succeed, success often 
degenerates into anarchy; but truths such as yours, pronounced in the sol- 
emn moments between life and death, abide among men, and become a 
'guide and a prophecy,' alike in triumph and defeat. 

" You see here many of your countrymen in arms. To you the spectacle 
must be a novel one. — On consideration it will not appear less novel than 



326 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

significant. Where many of those around you were born and nursed — where 
rest the ashes of their fathers — in that land which, wherever they may be, 
is to them 

"The greenest spot In memory's watte" — 

the one unfading image in their heart, round which clusters every manly 
association of virtue, hope and glory; in that land, sir, to have arms in 
their har.ds, would make them felons, because — and the logic is perilous to 
tyranny everywhere — such have been their wrongs the government could 
not resist the conviction that they would use them against itself. Here, where 
they have taken shelter from persecution and from want, they have been re- 
ceived into civil brotherhood by a great, generous, and free people. They 
have also been admitted to the glorious trust of the national defence. 

" The flag of freedom, the integrity of liberty, the glory of the might- 
iest of nations, have been committed to their valor and loyalty. In a grate- 
ful and proudly confident spirit, they rally round 

"The 6tarry flag of Liberty," 
determined to justify the confidence of their adopted land. If they could 
have a higher incentive to loyalty, to prove the cruelty and folly of the 
British government would be a powerful inducement. But this is not needed. 
Independent thereof, never had soldiers a better mission; we aspire to fulfil 
it with honor. 

'•Those who accept the arms of liberty assume the responsibility of 
defending her; they become her sentinels and her guardians. We hope we 
shall prove equal to the trust. 

" We heartily congratulate you on your liberation from a cruel captivity, 
where no honor was ever observed toward you or your comrades. Those 
who controlled you were mere jailers, in the meanest sense of the word. For 
the rest it becomes us not to speak. Armed men do not rail; they do not 
beg; nor do they idly menace. These are the tricks of slaves. His sword 
or his musket speak for the soldier, whether the voice be one of defence 
or vengeance. To these stern interpreters are we bound. Let them speak 
when the hour comes. Till then, silence best befits us. 

"To your comrades in captivity we beg you to communicate what you 
see and hear to-day. Tell them that, as long as their mighty hearts are 
not broken, there is room for hope. Tell them that, day and night their 
honorable deliverance is the first thought of their armed countrymen in these 
free States. Tell them even yet to bear up. They are apostles of a world's 
faith— martyrs of humanity — heralds of a higher destiny — their heroism, 
the aurora of an everlasting day, whose morning will dawn when one hun 



RESfONSE TO SOLDIERS' WELCOME. 327 

dred thousand Irishmen shall stand around the American stars, educated in 
freedom, and trained to the valorous duties her supremacy among men 
requires from her true disciples." 

Mr. Meaoiier's Eeplt. 

" Gentlemen : — I trus r you will not be displeased with me if I say that 
I regret the publicity which has been given to this event, for it may have 
given rise to expectations which I am not in a position to fulfil. Yet the 
address you have been pleased to present, I accept with sentiments of res- 
pect, gratitude and pride. Assuring me of your friendship — stamping ;. 
sanction upon my past career — expressive of high hope and manly purpose 
— it lifts my spirits up, and imparts a golden color to the current of my 
thoughts. The more so si' ~ ie you disclaim, in this proceeding, the intention 
to hold an idle pageant, or solemnize a vain ovation. 

" I can therefore speak to you with a free heart, and in language that 
of its own nature, will exempt itself from criticism. 

" Had not a word been spoken, the scene before me would inspire the 
happiest emotions. These arms point to the loftiest regions of our history. 
They penetrate and disturb the clouds which overcharge the present hour — 
revealing to us in the light which quivers from them many a fragment and 
monument of glory. 

"There are laurels interwoven with the cypress upon that old ruin, the 
home of our fathers, the sanctuary of our faith, the fountain of our love. 
Desolate as it is, it reminds us of our descent and lineage. Of the soldiers, 
the scholars, and the statesmen who constituted the bright and indestruc- 
tible links of that descent and lineage, we have i.o reason to be ashamed. 
The nation that lilts her head the highest in the world would vote them 
statues in her Pantheon. 

" To the scholars and the statesmen of our country, on another occasion 
let there be a fitting tribute paid. On this day other recollections are called 
forth, and names and exploits that are dear to the Irish soldier arise la 
quick succession, and star the field of memory. The names of O'Neill, 
O'Donnell, Mountcashel, Sarsrield, Dillon and De Lacy awake like echoes of 
a trumpet, from the rugged heights and recesses of the past. There is the 
defence of the Cambray, retreat of Altenheim, the battle of Malplaquet. 
The colors of the biigai.e moulder in the Church of the Invalides. 

' France cannot forget the noble contributions made to her glory by the 
regiments of Burke, Galmoy, and Hamilton. She cannot forget that at Cre- 



328 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

mona, where the activity and vigor of her own sous were relaxed by the 
fine climate, the wines, the delicious fruits, the gayeties and licentiousness 
of Italy — when the drum was silent, and not a soldier scoured the neigh- 
borhood or paced the ramparts — she cannot forget that the Irish regiments 
alone retained the vigor of military discipline of the entire garrison; that 
they alone were found regularly under arms on parade or at the posts 
assigned them; that they alone defeated the treachery of the monk Cas- 
sioli, and, fighting in their shirts, beat back the cavalry of Prince Eugene, 
and the grenadiers of De Merci. 

"Neither can she forget that on the Adige — up through the mountains, 
whose shadows darken the northern shore of the Lake of Gardee — up 
through the passes where the Austrian engineers had cut their trenches, 
and a gallant peasantry stood guard — up the face of those steep precipices, 
which seemed accessible only to the eagle and the chamois — the Irish sprang, 
and clutched the keys of Riva. 

" But not to the memory of France alone do we appeal for the vindi- 
cation of the courage of our fathers. Spain, which received the remnant of 
Tyrone's army — Austria, in whose ranks so many thousands of the exiles 
perished — Russia, whose forces were organized by Lacy — will bear witness 
that the land which bore us has given birth to men whose chivalry and 
genius entitled their country to a nobler fate. 

"We need not allude to the revolution out of which— like Chrysar from 
the blood of Medusa — this noble Republic arose. To the gratitude of the 
country, in the midst of whose fruitfuiness and glory we repose, let us con- 
fidently commit the renown of those in whose graves are set the founda- 
tions of her freedom. 

"Further to the south — there where the Andes tower and the Amazon 
rolls his mighty flood — the Celt — the spurned and beggared Celt ! has left 
His foot-print on many a field of triumph. Venezuela, Chacabuco, Valpa- 
raiso, have recollections of the fiery valor before which the flag of the 
Escurial went down. 

"Such being the case, you have just reason to be proud, and America 
has just reason to trust you. America, with her hand upon her own and 
other histories, may confide in your integrity, your fealty, and devotion. 

"I speak not of the hope which Ireland may derive from your organ- 
izations, and the propitious influence it may exercise in some happier season, 
upon her interests and ultimate condition. This is a subject on which no 
one, least of all a young politician, should touch inconsiderately, or with 



RESPONSE TO SOLDIERS' WELCOME. 329 

temerity. But this I can safely say, that whether Irishmen cast their for- 
tunes permanently here, or, answering to some wise and inspiring summons, 
shall return to the land whence they have been forced to fly, the use of 
arms will improve their character, will strengthen and exalt it, freeing it 
from many of the irregularities which enfeeble and degrade it. The disci- 
pline of the soldier will adapt it to the more serious and sacred duties of 
life, and render it capable of experiencing adversity without despair, or vic- 
tory without intemperance. 

"In contemplating this alternative, I speak not without a precedent, nor 
do I suggest a movement hostile or dangerous to the Constitution you are 
sworn, armed, and embodied to maintain. The example of Kosciusco requires 
no apology or panegyric. The world is the temple of his fame — the sun his 
coronet of glory. Leaving his native land in the days of his fresh and radient 
youth, he plunged himself into the red sea, that lay between America and 
her liberties. Having fought nobly in her cause, and beheld that cause en- 
throned and recognized, he returned to his native country, and, desirous of 
establishing there what he had here contributed to secure, took rank under 
Poniatowsky, faced and broke the cuirassiers of Frederick, and paused not 
until the lance of the Cossack quivered above his heart. 

" The same story may yet be told of one who, flying from the shores 
of Ireland, devoted his manhood to the service of his country, and return- 
ing to the soil from whence his hopes, his memories, and his sorrows sprung, 
found a grave, not beneath the ruins of his native land, but beneath the 
arch of triumph reared to commemorate her ascension from the tomb. 

"The day may be distant that will realize this conjecture. 

" The history of Ireland suggests despondency, and reconciles us, by 
anticipations, to the worst. The sanguine, the generous, the courageous, 
the ambitious even — all share alike in the gloom which that history diffuses. 
Yet, it is no impiety for me to predict that, as her sufferings have been 
long, her happiness shall be great, and that, as she has been called upon 
to bear a weary burthen, and to pine and plod in sickness and starvation, 
while other nations have rejoiced, so, when the appointed day has come, 
shall her joy be more joyful and her glory the more glorious. If such 
should be the will of Providence, Providence in his own good time will 
indicate the way. To the Promised Land there will be to us, guides upon 
earth, and commandments from on high. Faithfully, piously, lovingly, let 
us await that time, and with pure hearts, and upright spirits, perfect our- 
selves in those arts and habits which will enable us to meet it with ad- 
vantage. This is the noblest object we can have upon the earth. 



3-i© MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS F11ANC1S MEAGHER. 

" There is, however, another object which here should stir the feelings, 
and stimulate the energies — should prompt the intellect, quicken the indus- 
try, fire the ambition of all who come from Ireland — who are jealous of 
her Dame, anxious for the sympathy of all great and reputable nations, and 
who have fixed for her, in the coming years, an abode of peace, and an 
eminence of renown. Here, in this land, the resort of strangers of every 
clime, the centre of civilization — the great anchorage of commerce — the cit- 
adel of freedom, by the cultivation of those virtues which strengthen, em- 
bellish and elevate a State, by sobriety, honesty, and assiduity in all pur- 
suits, in generous and cheerful subordination to her laws, in warm and 
strenuous fidelity to her charter, — will the name of Ireland be made res- 
pected, a deep and enduring sympathy for her sufferings and her mission 
be evoked, and new lacilities be opened for the redemption to which, with 
broken accent, and a wounded heart, she aspires. 

"To this end the military organization of which I here behold so con- 
spicuous an illustration, is sure to conduce. —It is the school of propriety, 
honor, generosity, fidelity and courage. It absorbs and concentrates the 
more vigorous faculties, the more liberal tastes, the more active emotions of 
the community, and regulating, purifying, endowing them with a spirit of 
decorum, narmony and nobility, reimburses them to the State, in a condition 
so improved, and with a force so augmented that she may enjoy the fullest 
prosperity with confidence, and face the most formidable enemy without dis- 
may. Like one of your noble lakes, which combines and congregates the vague 
and wandering elements of strength, impetuosity and progress, which precipi- 
tate themselves from your mountains, course along your plains, and deepen in 
your valleys, to send them forth again with renewed activity and power, to 
fertilize your fields, to flood the aqueducts your art has reared, and float 
the wealth you have wafted from and beckoned to your shores. 

" Nor are the benefits, neither is the spirit which emanates from this 
organization, confined to those of whom it is composed. Pervading every 
section of the Commonwealth by its influence, it consolidates that Union 
whose perpetuity was the noble aim of the eminent statesman for whose 
death, seven days since, the city robed herself in mourning.* Counteracting 
the influence of avarice, luxury, fashion, it keeps alive in marts and man- 
sions — costlier than those of Tyre and Sidon, of Genoa or Venice — that 
spirit of patriotism which broke forth from the lips of the. Lacedemonian 
mother, when, in answer to the messenger who told her that her five sons 

*Henkt Clay. 



RESPONSE TO SOLDIEES' WELCOME. 331 



had been slain in battle, she exclaimed — ' I asked not concerning my chil- 
dren — I asked only for my country: if that be prosperous, I am happy!' 
— that spirit of patriotism which inspired the mother of Coriolanu-, when 
she exclaimed — 'Had 1 a dozen sons — each in my love alike, and none less 
dear than my good Marius — I had rather have seven die nobly for their 
country, than one voluptuously surfeit out of action!' Other feelings, hardly 

ess exalted, and operating less sublimely, derive from it their origin. 

" In the freest monarchy which the friends of monarchy can boast of, 

lie citizens are defrauded of the prerogative which is theirs, by the law of 
necessity, of interest and of honor, and which extends the solicitude which 
guards the fireside, to the wider circle of the States. Hence all the rude 
propensities of our nature prevail in a more marked degree. There is less 
warmth, less confidence, less frankness, less vivacity, and the common aspect 
of the people is sullen, sluggish and repulsive. 

" Here, the poorest trader that drives an honest bargain in the meanest 
quarter of the city — the poorest mechanic that sheds his sweat upon the 
garret for his bread, — is cheered in his drudgery by the proud thought that 
he, as well as the wealthiest is an active, and essential component of the 
State — that by his vote he affects the direction of her government, and by 
his arms, and the habits they impose, cooperates in her defence. 

" It must lighten his toil, exhilirate his heart, quicken his pulse, ana 
pour Iresii metal into his worn and withered arm, to feel that, like Putnam, 
he may turn from his obscure labor to share the exciting perils of the 
field. Lifting him above the superstitious, whicl haunt him from the cradle, 
it subdues the fear of pain, and iusp res a disdain of death. Divesting it 
of its terrors, it comes not like tbe Erinnys, with the cincture of snakes, 
and heralded by the cries of CithaBron, za.1 beautiful as Hyperion, with 
his brow wreathed with an imortal star, and his summons is 

Welcome as ihe cry 
Thai told the Indian ^es were ne:. 

To the world-seeking Genoese, 
When the land wind from the woods or palm, 
Ami orange groves, and fields of balra. 

Blew o'er the Haytian seas.' " 

The above noble speech, — the first which the young orator addressed t< 
his countrymen in America — clearly set forth the policy he recommended 
his exiled compatriots to adopt in their efforts for the disenthralment o) 
their Motherland. Its effect was soon observable in the increased impetus 
given to the formation of Irish military organizations. Steps were taken tc 



332 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FEANCIS MEAGHER. 

raise a new Rifle Regiment, of which Meagher himself was to assume com- 
mand. The regiment was, at first, known as the *' Republican Rifles." 
Its nucleus was the " Mitchel Light Guard," an independent company or- 
ganized by Joseph Brenan, and, save the Captain, composed almost exclu- 
sively ot men from Meagher's uative county — (Waterford). The first public 
parade of the "Republican Rifles" was held on St. Patrick's Day, 1853, 
and on the Fourth of July, following, the regiment was reviewed by 
Meagher at "Old Fort Diamond," on Staten Island. 

The name of this command was subsequently changed to that of the 
•' Irish Rifles," under which designation it constituted the nucleus from 
which — when the integrity of the Union was threatened — sprang the famous 
37th New York Volunteers, than which no better or braver regiment fough; 
under the "Old Flag." 



CHAPTER LV. 



A CLEAR FIELD AND NO FAVOR. 

Then, flung alone, or hand in hand, 

In mirthful hour, or spirit solemn; 
In los-ly toil, or high command, 

In social hall, or charging column; 
In tempting wealth, and trying woe, 

In struggl ng with a mob's dictation; 
In bearing back a foreign foe, 

In training up a troubled nation: 
Still hold to Truth, abound in Love, 

Refui-ing every base compliance- 
Tour Praise within, jour Prize above, 

And live and die in Self Reliance- 

Davis. 



From his entrance into public life, in Ireland, to the hour of his sen- 
ence to death at Clonmel, Thomas Francis Meagher had freely given his time 



A CLEAR FIELD AZ'D NO FAVOR . 333 

and talents to his country's service. For her sake, also, the four succeeding 
years of his existence had been wasted in prison or exile. With his advent 
in America came his first opportunity, and — as he conceived — his imperative 
duty of devoting his abilities to the attainment of i.u independent livelihood, 
and he determined to commence the work without unnecessary delay. 

He Abjures Queen Victoria. 

As a preliminary and most essential step to entering on his new career, 
he deemed it incumbent on him to, formally, renounce all obligations to the 
*' foreign potentate" whose rule over his native land he had previously staked 
his life to overthrow; and as a concurrent part ot the agreeable duty, to 
" declare his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States." 

Accordingly, on ihe 9th of August, 1S52, he appeared, unattended before 
the proper officer of the Superior Court of the United States; he listened 
with profound attention while the form of oath was being read over to 
him, but when the officer arrived at the concluding words— "of whom I 
am now a subject," — Mr. Meagher said: — 

"I do not consider myself Queen Victoria's subject, whereas I have 
been declared an outlaw by the British Government." 

However, after the law of the case had been explained to him he took 
the customary oath — in the following words: — 

" I, Thomas Francis Meagher, do declare on oath, that it is bona Jide 
my Intention to become a Citizen of the United States, and to re- 
nounce for ever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign Prince, Potentate, 
State or Sovereignty whatever, and particularly to the Queen of the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, of whom I am now a subject." 

The clerk then handed Mr. Meagher a copy of his Declaration of Inten- 
tion. 

This, the first official document which Mr. Meagher had the honor to 
receive from the government of his adoption, he ever prized among the 
many which his services to that government in its hour of peril, subse- 
quently won. The millions of his countrymen who, as in his case, had 
their utter renunciation of any obligation to the tyrannical government un- 
der whose rule they were born, formally recorded, can, each and every man 
ot them, appreciate his reasons for cherishing the proof of their self-eman- 
cipation from even the silent admission of a degradation to which their 
consciences never submitted. By anticipation they rejoiced in the honors 



334 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

of full-blown citizenship of which this "Declaration of Intention" was an 
assurance. But in their renunciation of every obligation — (save that of 
everlasting hatred,)— to the symbol of foreign tyranny — they enjoyed a 
present ecstatic triumph. 

Xor can the repudiated representative of Irish oppression solace herself 
with the reflection that, when her exterminated victims proclaimed their 
intention of becoming citizens of this glorious Republic, she was, thereby, 
finally riu of a disturbing element. If she, or her abettors in tyranny, ever 
entertained such a pleasing delusion, the experiences of the past forty years 
must have dispelled it. 

[ Note. — Meagher never gave truer expression to the sentiments of his 
compatriots in America, than when, in the year following his " Declaration 
of Intention," he placed himself on record before the world on this, to 
Irish nationalists, all absorbing question. From a speech delivered at a flag- 
presentation to the " Meagher Grenadiers," of Jersey City, on October 31st, 
1853, the following passage is taken : — 

" Gentlemen of the Republican Grenadiers of New Jersey, a word as to 
myself and I have done. You have done me the honor to adopt my name. 
That you may not bear that name under wrong impressions — that you may 
not go through evolutions under false colors, — it is right that I should 
state to you the principles I hold. In a word, then, they are the same as 
those I held in July, 184S. From any of them, — in the minutest particular, 
— to the smallest extent, — in one solitary instance, — by any one act, or 
word, or gesture, — I defy the keenest critic, with, or without spectacles, — 
with the eye of a Cyclops, or the eye of a snake, — to detect the slightest 
deviation. What I was then I am now. I have brought my principles to 
America, and believe they do not conflict with the spiiic and provisions of 
the Republic. Others may have changed — / have not. Others may have 
apostatized — I have not. Others may have turned their backs upon the altar 
raised that year, on the green sod, to the memory of the dead and the 
worship of freedom, and slinking off through by-ways and crooked ways, to 
other shrines, may have cast the dust off their sandals upon that altar. I 
have not. What I was then I am now." 

Publication of Meagher's Ieish Speeches 

After consultation with his friends, Mr. Meagher decided on ' delivering 
a series of lectures in those cities of the Union from which he had already 



A CLEAR FIELD AND AO EAVOH. 335 

received invitations to public receptions, and addresses of congratulation on 
his escape from British thraldom. 

It was the wisest course he could adopt, for it fulfilled the two-fold 
purpose of gratifying the desire of his admirers and countrymen to see and 
hear him, and also of most speedily enabling him to provide a home for 
the young wife who was soon expected to rtjoin him. 

But before definitely entering on his lecturing tour, he was recommended 
to prepare for publication a selection of his speeches delivered in Ireland, 
and which had won him the admiration of millions of America's freedom- 
loving citizens. 

Such a collection was, accordingly, prepared, and, under the title of 
" Speeches on Legislative Independence of Ireland, with Introductory Notes," 
was published by J. B. Redtield, Nassau street, New York. 

Besides the valuable notes prefixed to the several speeches, the book 
contains a historical "Introduction" epitomizing Irish political events from 
the passage of the Act of Union to the death of Thomas Davis. 

The book contains twenty-three speeches — the last being that delivered 
on John Mitchel's transportation June 6th, 184S. It also contains a series 
of papers written for the Xation by Meagher, in 1S4G-7, entitled " Lessons 
from Foreign History — The Belgian Revolution." This book ran 
through several editions within a year after its publication. 

Meagher's Lecture on Australia. 

Towards the close of November, 1852, Thomas Francis Meagher delivered 
his rirst lecture in America, at Metropolitan Hall, New York. The subject 

— '■•Australia'''' — was not one calculated to afford a fair test of his abilities 

— for it could not inspire the maguetic enthusiasm which the young orator 
had the rare gift of transmitting to an audience of his susceptible Celtic 
countrymen. Neither, for the same reason, was it a subject to specially 
attract Irishmen, who, moreover, had had so many opportunities of seeing 
their favorite since his arrival in the city — six months previously — that curios- 
ity to see him on this occasion could hardly have actuated them in mustering 
in such force as they did. The fact was, the vast majority of those in 
attendance came to testify by their presence, their admiration for the hero 
who had labored so well, and suffered so much, in the cause of their com- 
mon country, and, — as they felt in duty and gratitude bound to do — to 
give him an encouraging start in his new vocation. 



336 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

Eut the audience that greeted Mr. Meagher on the occasion of his debut 
as a lecturer, was by no means composed of Irish-born citizens of the me- 
tropolis. Far from it. It was truly cosmopolitan. The following introduc- 
tion to the Heralds report of the lecture will afford a fair idea of the public 
interest manifested on the occasion: 

"•Last evening Mr. Thomas Francis Meagher, the distinguished Irish exile, 
gave a 1< cture on Australia at Metropolitan Hall. Never was that building 
so filled with human beings before. The charge for admission was fifty 
cents. The time announced for opening the doors was seven o'clock — the 
lecture to commence at eight o'clock. So early as five o'clock the hall w r as 
besieged; and at six o'clock the crowd became so dense and so threatening, 
that the committee found it necessary to open the doors, so that at seven 
o'clock the house was nearly filled, and those who came punctual at that 
time to get good seats, were disappointed. So great was the rush that the 
crowd carried away the barriers, and a number got in without taking the trouble 
of delivering tickets on procuring them. The sum of $1,000 was taken at 
the door. There were fully 4,500 persons in the building. A large number 
went away. Not only was every seat, in every part of the building occu- 
pied, but the stage, the passage-ways, and every available standing-spot were 
densely crowded ; in fact, the people were as densely wedged together as it 
was possible for them to be. We observed Mr. Maxwell, the Collector of 
the Port on the stage, and Archbishop Hughes occupied a private box. 
The audience listened with breathless attention to the lecture, that occupied 
two hours and a half in its delivery." 

Commenced under such auspicious circumstances, Meagher's career as a 
public lecturer was a continuous success. During the month of December 
he accepted invit-tions to deliver his lecture on Australia in the following 
cities: — Albany, Schenectady, Utica, Syracuse, Auburn, Rochester, Buffalo, 
Cleveland, St. Louis and Cincinnati. 

The Lecture in Albany was delivered under the auspices of the Young 
Men's Literary Association. The crowd in attendai-ce occupied every foot of 
space in the hall— about 1.300 being seated — and several hundred being 
glad to obtain standing room in the passage ways. Hundreds more tried 
persistentiy to gain admittance, and were only induced to desist by the 
announcement that Mr. Meagher had consented to repeat the lecture on the 
following night. Early on the next morning the committee announced that 
all the tickets were sold. 

During the day Mr. Meagher was waited upon by the Mayor and sev- 



A CLEAR FIELD AND NO FAVOR. 337 

eral members of the Council, and other distinguished citizens of Albany. 
Delegations from Troy, Utica, and other places called on him in the 
afternoon with invitations to lecture, to which his previous engagements 
prevented his giving any definite answer. 

Having been present at the first night's lecture, I can bear personal 
testimony to the fervid enthusiasm with which the citizens of Albany 
received the Young Tribune; and the reports of each succeeding lecture 
showed that all his audiences manifested the same sympathetic spirit, with- 
out distinction of race, creed, or class, for, on every platform, were seated 
the most distinguished local clergymen of the lecturer's own faith beside 
those of other denominations, as well as the representative laymen of the 
community — public officials, members of the learned professions, &c, while 
the mass of those who occupied the body of the hall was, in general, 
composed of about equal portions of native and naturalized citizens — though, 
from the unanimity of feeling in their applause of the orator, it would be 
impossible to say among which race were his heartiest admirers. 

Early in January. 1S53, Mr. Meagher returned to New York, having 
completed his first lecturing tour. During the ensuing month he lectured 
in New York, Brooklyn, Bo-tou, and other cities in the Eastern States, 
and, towards the close of February, he proceeded to fill an engagement in 
Philadelphia, preparatory to a protracted lecturing tour through the principal 
cities of the South. 

Ou his arrival in Philadelphia, Mr. Meagher was waited on by a 
number of distinguished individuals, including John and Eobert Tyler, sous 
of President Tyler, and many clergymen of different persuasions. 

Previously to the lecture he dined at the Episcopal residence with the 
very Rev. Fr. Saurin and a party of Roman Catholic clergymen, who enter- 
tained the exile most affectionately and cordially. 

The lecturer was all that was anticipated by the orator's most enthusi- 
astic admirers. Mr. Meagher was introduced to the audience by the Hon. 
John Binns, a rebel of '98, then in his Slst year. Taking Mr. Meagher by 
the hand — the white-haired patriarch said, with much emotion : — 

" Let an Irish rebel of i79S introduce to this meeting an Irish rebel of 

1848." 

After the lecture Mr. Meagher was serenaded at his hotel, and responded 
* ma speech to the assembled thousands breathing the old spirit of '48. 



338 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



Meagher in the South. 

Meagher's tour through the South was one continuous ovation. He 
passed tJirough Washington city without making any stay, and so was 
unable to accept the hospitalities of the White House previously tendered 
to him by President Pierce. At Charleston, South Carolina, he had a splen- 
did audience and enthusiastic reception. The most distinguished men of the 
city and State attended. The Right Rev. Dr. Reynolds, with eight of his 
clergy, were present on the platform. 

In Columbia, the capital of the State, he lectured on the invitation of 
the Hibernian Benevolent Society. He had a magnificent audience, which 
included a large number of the students and nearly all the professors 
of the State College, together with the professors of the Roman Catholic 
College of St. Mary's, and the clergymen of the city. The latter dined 
with Mr. Meagher on that day. 

In Augusta, Georgia, he delivered two orations before large audiences. 
On the first occasion he was accompanied to the hall by the Mayor of the 
city, the Senators of the District, the members of the House of Representa- 
tives, and all the leading citizens. A very fine company, the Irish Volun- 
teers appeared in uniform, and elicited much admiration. 

At Mobile was witnessed the same enthusiasm and numbers. While 
there he received an immense requisition fiom New Orleans, inviting him 
to visit the Crescent City and deliver a series of lectures therein. He 
accepted the invitation, and arrived at his destination in the beginning of 
March. 

His stay in New Orleans was a protracted one, for, besides his busi- 
ness engagements, he was detained there in the loving companionship of 
two of his dearest personal friends and political associates — Richard Dalton 
Williams (•' Shamrock,") and Joseph Brenan. The former had come down 
from Spring Hill College, Alabama, for the express purpose of greeting 
him and enjoying his society, and that of his brother poet-and-rebel — for a 
brief holiday. Brenan was then a resident of New Orleans, and editor of 
one of its leading papers, — the True Delta. The three friends spent several 
days together exploring the coast scenery in the vicinity of the city, or in 
jovial reminiscences of former pleasant adventures in the "Green Old Land,'' 
recalled while '"blowing a cloud" in Mrs. Brenan's cosy little reception 
room — and Joe's library — and study combined. It is doubtful if either of 
the friends enjoyed a happier fortnight during the years of his existence 
in America. 



A CLEAR FIELD AND NO FAVOR. 339 

But in addition to the happiness of his old friends' society, Meagher 
had other reasons for enjoying his visit to New Orleans. In no other city 
in the Union was he the recipient of a warmer hospitality from the purely 
American element — and nowhere else was he made to feel more "at home" 
in its enjoyment. In fact, throughout the entire South, he found the society 
with which he commingled, more congenial to his own frank, warm-hearted 
nature than he did that of its counterpart in the less demonstrative commu- 
nities of other sections of the country. 

This fact should be borne in mind when estimating the personal sacri- 
fices of feeling which Meagher made in his devotion to duty — to the integrity 
of the Union— and the Flag that symbolized it. 

It was at the urgent request of the representative citizens of New Orleans 
that Mr. Meagher first prepared and delivered his lecture on "Ireland in 
'48." It was the last of the series which he delivered in that city, and it 
elicited the universal commendation of the city press. As a specimen of the 
notices given I quote the following from The Daily OHeanian: — 

"Last night Mr. Meagher closed his brilliant series of lectures, at a 
late hour — so late that our sanctum was reached at the ' wee sma' hour 
ayon the twal.' The hall was, as usual, thronged, and the audience pro- 
foundly sensitive. He introduced many new features into his lecture, and 
spoke with intense admiration of Smith O'Brien. The priesthood he excul- 
pated from censure, by showing that they never sanctioned the movement 
— never betrayed it." 

At the close of the lecture, Mr. Meagher bid farewell to his large 
auditory in a feeling address, wherein he explained the causes which led to 
his entering the lecture field in the following touching sentences: — 

" Through a fatal quarrel with a formidable government, backed by the 
parties I have referred to in my lecture, one could not be expected to fight 
his way without incurring some losses; neither could he resign his freedom, 
at the distance of sixteen thousand miles of ocean, without staking and 
forfeiting a premium on the enterprise. 

"Hence these humble labors of mine; hence it is, that the words I 
was once prompt and proud to utter, without fee or recompense, in the 
cause of truth and freedom, — for fatherland and conscience, — must now, 
for a season, be made the means of realizing an unsullied competence. 

" Should the desired success consummate the labor I have unwillingly 
embraced, I shall not, in a more affluent condition, be unmindful of those 
whose friendship dispelled most of what was repulsive in the labor, ren- 



310 MEM01BS OF GEX. THOMAS FBANC1S MEAGHER. 

tiering it to me, unconsciously, a work of pleasure rather than of harsh 
necessity. In that home, which you shall have assisted — some of you with 
fair, others %>ith stout, but all with willing hands — to build up, and to 
which I hope to lead one who did not refuse to share with me the isola- 
tion aud ignominy of my exile in the Australian forest — in that home the 
name of Louisiana shall be a household word." 

[ Note. — The expenses attendant on Meagher's escape from Van Die- 
man's Land were solely defrayed by himself, as the following letter on the 
subject clearly shows : — 

" St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans, 

''April 4th, 1S5I. 
" To the Editor of the New York Herald: — 

" Sir : I have this moment read your paper of the 2Sth of last month, 
and beg to correct a statement which appears there. The following passage 
occurs in an article about the rumored invasion of Canada : — 

' Of the $30,000 raised here by the Irish Directory, a balance still 
remains, after paying all the expenses of the escape of Meagher, Ac.' 

" This statement is entirely incorrect. The Irish Directory did not pay 
the expenses of my escape from Australia. That liability I charged to my 
own account. Neither for my escape, nor for any other purpose, am I iu- 
debted to the fund of the Irish Directory, or any other public fund, to 
the value of one cent. 

"I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

"T. F. Meagher."] 

Shortly after Meagher's hopeful anticipations of the future found utter- 
ance in the foregoing words, he enjoyed the two-fold satisfaction of being 
reunited to his wife aud father. 

When he was about risking the chances of escape from Australia, 
arrangements were made that, in case of his success, his wife should pro 
ceed to Ireland, and from thence go to meet him in New York. Accord- 
ingly, as soon as his safe arrival in America was announced in Australia, 
Mrs. Meagher took passage for Europe under the protection of a Catholic 
Bishop — her fellow-passenger. Arrived in Ireland, she proceeded to her 
husband*s home in Waterford, where she met with an Irish welcome both 
from Mr. Meagher, senior, and the citizens in general. From Waterford, in 
company of her father-in-law, she went to rejoin her husband in America. 
It was a most happy reunion for the three. 



A CLEAR FIELD AXD NO FAVOR. 341 

The ensuing summer and autumn they -spent together traveling through 
the country, visiting Niagara, the Catskill Mountains, Lake George and other 
places. On the approach of wiuter, the delicate state of Mrs. Meagher's 
health necessitated her removal to a milder climate, and as at the same 
time, Meagher had made arrangements for a lecture tour in California, his 
wife and father returned to Ireland — the lady intending to rejoin her hus- 
band, after his return from the Golden State. (But God willed it o the wis 3, 
for she died that winter, in Ireland, after giving birth to a son). 

[Note. — Mrs. Meagher died at her father-in-law's residence in Water- 
ford, on the 9th of May, 1S54. in the twenty-second year of her age. She 
had been in Ireland since the previous October, and intended to leave, for 
the purpose of rejoining her husband in the beginning of June; but a vio- 
lent fever intervened, and separated them for all time. Never was a death 
in that city by the Sufis, more pathetically and universally lamented. 

In the meantime Meagher's departure for California was postponed by 
the news of John Mitchel's escape from Australia, and his expected arrival 
in New York. The former determined to participate in his friend's recep- 
tion before leaving for the Pacific coast. Their meeting took place on the 
29th of November, 1853, on board the steamer Prometheus, from San Fran- 
cisco, on that vessel's arrival at Pier 3, North River. From thence they 
proceeded together to Mitchel's mother's house in Brooklyn, where, on that 
night, at an ovation tendered Mitchel by the Irish military organizations o. 
New York, Meagher, when addressing the assemblage was asked by one 
of the soldiers, " What about the sword?" and promptly replied — "The 
sword will lead if the bayonets will follow!''' 1 



CHAPTER LVI. 



FROM DECEMBER, 1S53, TO APRIL, 18G1. 

(Having, in the foregoiug portion of this Memoir, recorded in detail 
the most essential events of Meagher's career down to the time of John 
Mitchel's arrival in America — the proposed limits of the work, and the 



342 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



necessity of devoting as much space as possible to his military career, ren- 
ders it advisable that the record of the intervening seven years of his life 
should be condensed into as brief a space as can be found consistent with 
a due notice of important facts. Therefore, the present chapter shall be 
devoted to a concise summary of his actions during the period referred to). 

Meagher as a Journalist. 

Before his departure for California in Decemher. 1853, Meagher agreed 
to assist John Mitchel in founding and conducting a new weekly journal, 
to be called " The Citizen." The following extract from the Prospectus 
will explain the actuating motives of the associate editors : — 

" They refuse to believe that Irishmen at home are so abject as to be 
' loyal ' to the Sovereign of Great Britain, or that Irishmen in America can 
endure the thought of accepting the defeat which has driven them from the 
land of their fathers, and made that beloved land an object of pity and 
contempt to the world." 

The first number of the Citizen was issued on the 7th of January, 1845. 
Never, before or since, was there such a demand for any organ of Irish 
Nationality published in the United States. 

Meagher's first contribution appeared in the second number. It was en- 
titled " Irish Orators," and was intended as the first of a series of rough 
sketches of Ireland's most eminent public speakers. Grattan, Curren, and 
O'Connell, furnished the subjects for the initiatory article. The sketches 
were drawn by a master hand, and constituted the outlines of most alabor- 
ately finished pictures with which the artist subsequently delighted the 
admirers of Irish genius. 

The article was written " On board the Star of the West," off Kingston, 
Jamaica, en route to Aspinwall." 

About this time Mr. James Houghton, a Quaker merchant of Dublin, 
and a monomaniac on the question of American slavery, published a letter 
addressed to Thomas Francis Meagher, in which he undertook to lecture him 
on his duties in his new sphere of action, — one extract from this "solemn 
warning " will suffice to show the assumption of this meddlesome crank. 

" Be consistent, then, and while you are in a land of slave-drivers sanc- 
tion not their denial of civil and social rights to the colored people by your 
silence, or you will become a participator in these wrongs. * * * You 
cannot stop short on the threshold of the temple — you must enter boldly 



DECEMBER. 1S53. TO APRIL, 1861. 343 

into the interior, — and there, in the face of men and angels, proclaim 
yourself a true disciple." 

To this provoking fanatic, Mr. Meagher vouchsafed the following sen- 
sible and dignified reply : — 

Mr. Meagher to Mr. Houghton. 

St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans, 

March 24th, 1S54. 

"Mr. Meagher presents his compliments to Mr. Houghton, and begs to 
state that he does not recognize in Mr. Houghton, nor any other person, 
nor the public generally, any right or title whatsoever to require from him 
an expression of opinion respecting the question of African slavery in 
America. 

" Mr. Meagher holds himself, upon all such questions, wholly irrespon- 
sible for his opinions, his silence, or his action, to Mr. Houghton, or to 
any other gentleman, or to the public at large, or any portion thereof. 

"Mr. Meagher begs leave to add, that he has taken the preparatory 
oath of allegiance to the constitution, laws, and sovereignty of the Republic 
of the United States ; that he is not yet a citizen ; that three years have 
yet to elapse before he is one, that lie postpones till then his declaration 
of opinion regarding African slavery in America, and every other question 
affecting the joint compact and constitution of the several States." 

This letter was written the day after Meagher landed in New Orleans 
— on his return from California. His lecturing tour through the "Golden 
State" was, in every way successful, as was its continuation through the 
Southern cities, on his journey back to New York — where, with the pro- 
ceeds of his labors, he intended to establish a new home. Alas! for his 
blissful anticipations ! 

" The gold is all mine, now, I've no one to share, 
But for treasure, or pleasure, 'tis little I care." 

During the remainder of that year, he could not devote his mind to 
any settled course of action. A portion of the time he passed in the study 
of law, in the office of Judge Emmet, but, after being admitted to the 
bar, the profession appears to have lost its attractions for him, — as his 
speech in the defence of Colonel Fabens indicted for participating in Gen- 
eral Walker's invasion of Nicaragua — was the only notable one he ever 



344 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

delivered in a United States court of law. He contributed some articles, 
political and literary — to the ffttizen during Mitchel's connection with that 
journal. | 

The Crimean War — And the Hopes it Inspired. 

The year 1S55 opened auspiciously for the cause of the Irish Nationalists. 
The Crimean "War was then at its height. England's necessities had depleted 
her Irish garrison, and the hopes engendered by her difficulties gave a fresh 
impetus to the existing Irish-American military organizations, and led to the 
formation of another for the special purpose of preparing for the opportu- 
nity that all expected would be soon afforded them. This new Irish Revo- 
lutionary Society was known as the "Emmet Monument Association." It 
spread rapidly, until it numbered within its ranks the greater portion of 
the organized Irish Nationalists throughout the chief cities of the Union, 
while in New York it numbered more armed and disciplined men, pledged 
to the cause of Ireland's freedom, than there have been at any period 
since. 

The leaders of this organization — including John O'Mahony, Michael 
Doheny, and Michael Corcoran — entered into confidential communications 
with the representatives of Russia in Washington and New York, and had 
so satisfied the latter gentleman of the power of the Irish element in 
America, and of the expediency of Russia's aiding their project of creating a 
revolution in Ireland, and thus striking at the British Empire in its most 
vital part, that the Consul held out the strongest hopes of their obtaining 
from his Government all the material aid they required — namely, the means 
of fitting out an armed expedition to Ireland. 

Though Thomas Francis Meagher was not an actually enrolled member 
of the Emmet Monument Association — (which was an essentially secret 
organization) —yet he was well aware of itb existence and its purpose, and 
labored effectually to forward its objects. By a series of lectures on Irish 
patriotic subjects, which he delivered in every quarter of the Union during 
that year of promise, he infused his own glowing hopes into the hearts of 
thousands upon thousands of his fellow-exiles, set ihem panting with ardor 
for the opportunity of aiding in their fulfilment, and to enable them to 
do so effectually, he inculcated upon them the necessity of familiarizing 
themselves with the use of arms. 

The sudden termination of the Crimean war, put an end to all hopes 
of assistance from Russia, and, soon after peace was proclaimed, it was 



DECEMBER, 1853, TO APRIL, 1861. 345 

deemed expedient by the directors of the Emmet Monument Association to 
formally dissolve that organization, and release the members from their 
pledges. Before this course was taken, however, they took the precaution 
of first forming a permanent committee, consisting of thirteen men, repre- 
sentatives of the several divisions of the society. 

This committee were empowered to resuscitate the organization whenever 
they deemed the proper time had come for taking such a step. 

CAfter an interregnum of two years, these ever-watchful patriots, deem- 
ing that the time had arrived for renewing the preparations for an Irish 
revolutionary movement, commenced the formation of a new organization, 
which they, at first, designated the "Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood," but 
which name, for adequate reasons, was subsequently changed for that of 
„he "Fenian Brotherhood.*') 

Meagher's American Wife. 

In the spring of 1S5G. Mr. Meagher married Miss Elizabeth Townsend, 
of New York, a young lady as noble-minded as she was beautiful and 
accomplished. Brought up in a different creed from his, when accepting his 
hand and heart, she made his faith her own; aud thenceforth, she became 
one of the most eminent Caltholic ladies of Ameriea for her zealous devotion 
to that faith as manifested in good works. What a bles-ing she was to her 
distinguished husband — during the eleven years of their wedded life — the 
world can never know. Among the millions of his admirers, none more 
thoroughly appreciated his genius, the self-sacrificing patriotism he manfested 
to his native land, or his heroic devotion and transcendent services to the 
land of his adoption. 

One who kuew them intimately, — Charles G. Halpine (Miles O'Reilly,) — 
in writing ol General Meagher's death, pays this tribute to his bereaved 
lady. 

"How noble a wife she has been — with what fidelity of warm devotion 
she has clung to the varying fortunes of her brilliant but erratic lord — 
only those could tell whose lips must remain silent under the seal of social 
relationship. Reared in luxury, and as much flattered and followed for her 
beauty as Meagher had been in early days for his genius and gift of elo- 
quence, she never faltered in her allegiance to the exile, who reached his 
highest fortune when he won her heart. Whither he went she followed 
him, his people indeed became her people, and his God she made her 
God." 



346 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

To this may be added — that the steadfast devotion with which she 
clings to her hero's memory; the prideful enthusiasm which she feels in 
his fame, and the affectionate care with which she cherishes every me- 
mento he has left for eye and heart to dwell upon in the loneliness of 
her widowed home — entitles this noble lady to the warmest place in the 
heart of the Nation that glories in the name and fame of Thomas Fran- 
cis Meagher. 

Publication of the Irish News. 

Shortly after his settlement in his new home, Mr. Meagher determined 
to publish a newspaper of his own — to be dedicated to the service of the 
Irish people at home and abroad. 

Accordingly, on the 12th of April, 1S56, the first number of the " Irish 
News " appeared, edited by the proprietor. Associated with Mr. Meagher 
in the management of the paper, were the following efficient staff: — Mr. 
James Itoche, formerly Editor of the Kilkenny Journal, assistant editor, Mr. 
John Savage — then in the foremost rank of contemporary American contri- 
butors to the periodical press — was the literary editor ; and Mr. Richard 
J. Lalor, the " Business Manager." 

The regular Dublin correspondent was Mr. Meagher's old comrade and 
school-fellow, Patrick J. Smith — the rescuer of John Mitchel — whose letters 
signed "Kilmainham," embodied in the most epigrammatic and humorous 
style of gossipy narrative, all the salient features of current events on the 
old sod — with laughable reminiscences cf various celebrities, cranks, and 
humbugs, known to the two of old. Another old-time friend and com- 
rade of Meagher's, — Thomas W. Condon — the "poet-smith of Waterford, '» 
contributed an occasional racy letter — bubbling over with Munster humor 
— from their native city. Robert Shelton MacKeuzie, William Dowe, and 
other well known writers in prose and verse, also contributed to the new 
journal. 

But the chief attraction of the Irish News was the Editor's inimitable 
"Persanal Recollections,'' so redolent of his native humor, pathos, and won- 
derfully descriptive power. 

Those papers included reminiscences of the leading men and events in 
Ireland from 1S43 to 1848 — " The Irish and ELglish Jesuits," " The '82 
Club," sketches of eminent Irish orators, and of travel by land and sea, of 



DECEMBER, 1853, TO APRIL, 1861. 347 

the Irish in Australia, South America, and California, with descriptions of 
Irish scenery and customs, &c* 

Under all these fortuitous circumstances, it is no wonder that the Irish 
News prospered from the beginning, and gained steadily in public estima- 
tion while &S founder continued to give it his personal support and super- 
intendence. 

Travels in Central America. 

After nearly two years of constant attendance in the Irish News office — 
(save some brief intervals devoted to lecturing) — Meagher wearied of the 
monotonous confinement, and longed for a new sphere of action, more suit- 
able to his adventurous tastes and naturally active habits. With this object 
he made an engagement with the publishers of Harper's Magazine, whereby 
he was to travel through some of the States of Central America, and fur- 
nish a series of articles on his observations therein. 

In his letter to Mr. Roche — committing the editorial management of the 
Irish News to that gentleman's care during his absence, — he thus explains 
the object of his journey : — 

"I visit Central America, — Costa Rica especially — for the purpose of 
ascertaining the true condition of affairs there, and becoming familiar with 
a noble region, for which there inevitably approaches an eventful future. I 
go there to collect material for lectures and writings upon the country, 
and have the good fortune to be accompanied by an old schoolfellow of 
mine, Ramon Paez, the eldest son of General Paez of Venezuela, whose 
name alone will be to me a passport of the highest value. Paez is an 
accomplished linguist, a botanist, a geologist, and a splendid draughts- 
man. He takes the scientific and artistic portion of the work. I shall 
endeavor to do the rest, whatever that may be." 

One result of their combined labors, on this occasion, may be found in 
Harper's Magazine for 1S58, in a series of articles entitled " Holidays in 
Costa Rica, Illustrated;" another in the brilliantly descriptive lectures on 
the subject — which Meagher delivered in the principal cities of the Union 
during the months succeeding his return to New York. 



*lf published in a collective form, Meagher's "Personal Recollections" would consti- 
tute one of the most delightful volumes in the whole range of Irish miscellaneous lltera 
tnre. 



34S MEMOIRS OF UEK. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER 



Smith O'Brien en America. 

In the spring following his return from Costa Rica, Meagher had the 
intense gratification of, once more, greeting his illustrious friend and fellow- 
exile, William Smith O'Brien, who visited the United Sates for needful recre- 
ation — the recuperation of a naturally strong constitution — sadly impaired 
by protracted physical and mental suffering — and also, for the purpose of 
studying, by the aid of personal observation, the practical working of Repub- 
lican institutions in the theatre of their freest and most perfect development. 

After a gratifying stay of several months, during which he visited most 
of the States of the Union, and was everywhere received with honor and 
the warmest hospitality, Mr. O'Brien sailed from New York for home, on 
Saturday, June 4th, 1S59. His last days in America were spent as the guest 
of Peter Townsend, Esq.— Mr. Meagher's father-in-law — at 129 Fifth avenue. 
During this period, accompanied by Mr. Meagher, he called upon his ( ace 
Archbishop Hughes, Robert Emmet, and his old compatriots of '48, John 
O'Mahony, Michael Doheny, Dr. O'Hanlon (his old neighbor from Rathkeale,) 
James Roche, and others. 

The last afternoon he devoted to Mrs. Mitchel, — the venerable mother 
of John Mitchel — where he had the gratification of meeting Dr. Antisell* 
and other friends. 

The popular demonstration on the occasion of Smith O'Brien's departure 
for Irelaud was one of the greatest outpourings of the Irish element ever 
witnessed in Xew York— before the war. The procession of civic and mili- 
tary societies formed in Union Square early in the morning. At half-past 
nine o'clock Smith O'Brien, attended by T. F. Meagher, John Mitchel, Dr. 
Antisell and Jud^e O'Connor, proceeded to the residence of Thomas E. Davis, 
Esq., 39 Union square, where a large party assembled to meet him. Here 
he was presented with an address by a deputation from the 'Irish civic and 
military bouies, to which, standing between his friends Mitchel and Meagher, 
he delivered a lengthy reply, which was heartily applauded. 

While the procession was forming Meagher, Mitchel, Dr. Antisell and 
Judge O'Coni.or went on Board the steamship Vigo, the vessel that was to 
carry O'Brien home. It was to them that, in accents of affectionate regret, 
he auuressed his last '-Good Bye! and God Bless You!" 



*Pr. Anticpii • ow of ashiugcoii, Is the sole survivor of all the abov 
f ends of Ireland. 



THE PRINCE OF WALES' VISIT. 349 



CHAPTER LVII. 



THE PRINCE OF WALES' VISIT TO AMERICA. — MEAGHER OX 
COR COR AX. 

. In the summer of 1SG0 Meagher set out ou another visit to Central 
America, and, during the period of his absence there, an event took place 
in Xew York, which, in its far-reaching consequences, not only led to the 
shaping of his own future career, but might be said to have marked the 
commencement of a new epoch in the history of his race on this conti- 
nent. 

That event was the arrival of the Trince of Wales in the Empire City, 
and the refusal of Colonel Michael Corcoran to order out the Sixty-ninth 
Regiment to parade in honor of "his mother's son.' 1 '' 

The history of the transaction has been told in the columns of ten 
thousand newspapers at both sides of the Atlantic, and it will continue be 
be told through succeeding generations of our freedom-loving people. As 
one personally conversant with its leading circumstances — from my intimate 
relations with the heroic soldier who so nobly upheld the honor of our 
country, — I might, if so inclined, add another to the many versions of the 
story heretofore published, — all agreeing in the main facts — though differing 
in details, — but for the fact that, in this ;1 Memoir," it was essential that 
I should include Meagher's eloquent Oration on General Corcoran, and as 
that embodies the most brilliant and lucid recital of the soldier's contempt 
for the House of Guelf — and the reasons therefor — that I have seen, I 
give it place here. 

The Oration on General Corcoran was delivered in the hall of the Cooper 
Institute, New York, on Friday evening, January 22d, 1864, under the auspices 
of the Fenian Brotherhood — of the military portion of which General Cor- 
coran had command. The oration was free, the admission being by tickets 
distributed through the proper channel. The assemblage was the largest 
ever seen in that immense hall : hundreds had to go away unable to obtain 
standing-room. The following report is taken from the daily papers : — 

"The platform was occupied by the officers of the old G9th and those 



350 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

of the Irish Brigade and Irish Legiou then in the city, with many of the 

Phoenix Brigade and civic organizations of the F. B., the Father Mathew 

and Longshore Men's societies, "Knights of St. Patrick," and a number of 
prominent citizens. 

" By the side of the reading desk, near the centre of the stage, was 
placed a pedestal, on which was a splendid bust of General Corcoran by 
Draddy, the sculptor. On either side of the pedestal were the Irish and 
American flags of the Phoenix Zouaves, draped in mourning, aud held by 
two young boj'S arrayed in the uniform of that organization. 

At eight o'clock, Mr. John O'Mahony, attended by the orator of the 
evening, appeared on the stage. After the applause which greeted their 
presence had subsided, Mr. O'Mahony briefly introduced General Meagher, 
who commenced his oration as follows : — 

General Meagher's Oration on General Corcoran. 

Ladies and Gentlemen — There is a singularly beautiful and affecting 
picture given by Crofton Croker, — to whose genius many of the legends 
and chronicles of Munster owe their preservation, — that, one evening about 
a century ago, in a grand old domain in the county of Cork, an old man, 
apparently asleep, was found extended on the ground at the foot of an 
aged tree. The owner of the domain, happening to pass by approached the 
spot, and, finding the old man in tears of the bitterest affliction, enquired 
what the matter was. 

"Forgive me, sir, said the old man; "my grief is idle; but to mourn 
is a relief to the desolate heart and humbled spirit. I am a McCarthy. 1 
was once possessor of the castle that is now ruins, aud of the land that 
is now in the hands of the stranger. This tree was planted by me, and I 
have returned to water its roots with my tears. To-morrow I will sail for 
Spain, where I have long been an exile. I am an old man, and to-night prob- 
aoly for the last time, I bid farewell to the land of my birth and the 
house of my forefathers." 

The love, ladies and gentlemen, of one's native country, of which this 
incident is a striking illustration, and of which the words of that aged 
exile are the sad but glorious expression, does not confine itself to the scene 
of one's birth, nor to that of his childhood, nor yet to that of his active 
and expanding manhood, happy, beautiful, and ennobled by nature though 
it be. From the living it radiates to the dead: and in the achievements 
of eht past, this love of country finds a loftier inspiration, derives from 



MEAGHER OX CORCOEAX. 



new events and asociations a fire that is more intense; and from being 
a pulsation of the boy, dilates until it becomes the supreme passion of the 
man. The history of the nation stimulates, fortifies, and ennobles it, and 
kindles it with rapture : and hence come those utterauces of sweetness, or 
sublimity, or those splendid creations which replenish the treasure of its 
genius and preserve its less perishable trophies (applause). That this love 
of one's native country — whether it displays itself in milder or fiercer 
moods — is incompatible with the duties required- by the country to which 
the emigrant transplants himself; that it interferes in any way with such 
duties, or the relations that should exist in perfect good faith and cordial- 
ity between the latter and former; that, indeed, so far from this beiug 
the case, these relations grow all the stronger and the heartier, and the 
duties in question are discharged more freely in proportion to the intensity 
of that love, — the career of the loyal citizen and brave soldier in whose 
memory we lovingly, proudly, and reverently meet to-night — short as it 
was — solemnly proves as it splendidly attests. (Cneers). 

Early in the fall of 1SG0, as you must all remember, there arrived in 
this city a young gentleman of high family and great expectations (hisses,) 
who had been visiting a portion of his estates on the other side of the 
St. Lawrence, and was about to finish his education by a trip through that 
livelier portion which his great-grandfather lost, and which has wonderfnlly 
improved since the forfeiture took place. (Cheers and laughter). Geniu., 
accomplished, possessing the manliness, gifted with the natural graces, hav- 
ing had the intellectual training of a young English gentleman, even where 
his splendid prospects failed to excite an interest, he brought those creden- 
tials which command the courtesies and receive the hospitalities of society. 

A startling curiosity, amongst and above all the novelties which roll in 
golden waves upon these shores — the eldest son of a queen, upon whose 
brow glitters the oldest and costliest diadem in the world; the highest of 
an aristocracy claiming the loftiest names in Europe, inheriied by virtue of 
musty parchments and indistinguishable tombstones, (laughter) ; the heir of 
an empire belted by the zodiac, to the high reputation of which a crowd 
of celebrities has contributed, until at last it may be said to monopolize 
the earth and invade the sky ; —a visitor with such antecedents, with such a 
position, with such expectations, could not surely be looked for in New York 
without the inquisitiveness of the people being excited. Besides which, a victo- 
rious people might compromise themselves, and lose credit in the community 
and eclat in the social world, if they were stinted in their munificence to the 
distinguished stranger; and then, again, what more rational and salutary than 



352 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

a people, devoted to the acquisition of wealth, exhausting their vitality iu 
unremitting activity, straining for new excitement in the way of business, 
with their minds ever on the rack, and their daring and adventurous spirit 
on the wing, should seek for great relief in great distractions, and give 
way under extraordinary impulses to extraordinary relaxations— all these 
facts and probabilities conceded, no wonder that, early in the Fall of 1860, 
we had such feverishness in New York, and, with the wholesome intention 
of having temporary relief from business, merchants, artizans, bill brokers 
and bill posters, pill compounders and rat exterminators, '• Ticket-of-Leave 
Men" and "Jolly Peddlers," high and low, rich and poor, went crazy with 
excitement. 

What though the great-grandfather of this young Prince did many things 
to aggrieve, exasperate, damage, ruin the fortunes, make desolate the homes, 
and, in the end, engulf our grandfathers in blood; what though the sugar 
houses and prison ships could tell many a tale of horror, and the red marks 
of those days have not yet been thoroughly effaced, and the flames in which 
the archives of the national capital were, at a more recent period, consumed, 
still seemed to gleam upon the Potomac: what of all this? 

Cornwallis had given up his sword. Andrew Jackson dealt our foes a 
compensating blow at New Orleans. Accounts are more than square between 
us. Our fleets divide with theirs the domain of the seas. In the first fifty 
years of our existence we equal them in all the essentials of a nation. In 
another fifty years we shall overtop them. As a successful people we can 
afford to be pleasant and lavish our attentions, and sink these memories in 
oblivion, now that the plumes of the Prince of Wales unfold themselves 
from the Battery, and he comes to place a leather in the cap of Libtrty, 
as Yankte Doodle 

" Stuck a feather in his cap, 
And called it Macaroni." (Laughter). 

The speaker then reviewed the scenes that occurred on the landing of 
the Prince of Wales, and which were still lresh in the memory of the 
audience, and added : — 

Nor can you forget to-night that there was one man, self-conscious, stern, 
impassive, indomitable, as he always was, but never more so than at that 
time — who conspicuously stood aloof, and bravely refused to participate in 
the ovation to the expectant inheritor of that crown under the weight of 
which the liberties of his country had been crushed. (Great applause). 
Against the public feeling of the day, headlong and sweeping as it was, a 



MEAGHER ON COB COR AN. 353 

man less staunch and fearless than Michael Corcoran, would not have stood. 
(Renewed applause). 

Where the public feeling rushes in so broad a current as it did at the 
time I speak of, aiid mirthfulness and hospitality ride upon the tide and 
invite all to swell their train, it takes something sterner than the courage 
which serenely fac^ danger to resist the generous influence. ood men, 
brave men, who would not do a mean or paltry act for all the riches the 
world could place at their feet — men who would dare the world in arms, 
and laugh to scorn the angriest faction and scurviest demagogues, while 
conscience and the power and pride of intellect sustained them, might well, 
at such a time, hesitate to separate themselves from the people, when the 
act would seem like churlishness, and vain conceit and eccentricity be the 
mildest explanation it would be likely to receive. These are the errors 
which undermine and overthrow the loftiest characters, and enervate the 
the sternest — the fears which paralyze the boldest hearts. Thus it is 
world triumphs; and thus it is the crippling or extinction of all vigorous 
and chivalrous heroism becomes a debasing and deadly policy of the day. 

Implacable foes to such a policy, thanks be to Heaven, there are men 
in this gregarious generation who will assert their independence, and stand- 
ing erect and intractable in their integrity, as Michael Corcoran did, will 
do and say what they believe it right for them to say and do, even though 
they stand alone. 

I was in Central America at the time, and cannot speak from personal 
observation ; but I well remember the criticism which the action of the 
Colonel of the old 69th, in reference to the Prince of Wales (hisses,) called 
forth, and the charges and suspicions with which, by reason of that action, 
he and they were violently assailed. 

He refused, as I have already said, and as the world has long since 
been told, to participate in that reception. He refused lawfully as a citizen, 
courageously as a soldier, indignantly as an Irishman (cheers) ; refused to 
parade his stalwart regiment in honor of the beardless youth, who, suc- 
ceeding to the spoils of the Tutors and Stuarts was destined one day to 
wield the sceptre that had been the scourge of Ireland, when it might be 
destined to consecrate to another spell of royalty and government the land 
in which the House of Hanover, with all its stupidity and blundering, has 
had genius enough to perpetuate the curse of Cromwell (cheers,) to parade 
his regiment in honor of this prince — respectable and amiable personally as 
he was, would be, for him to cancel the protests which had been made 

23 



354 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

by the Irish race for centuries, on the battle-field, in captivity, at the stake, 
on the scaffold, in exile, in hunger, in rags and desolation, but everywhere 
and always in defiance against the invasion and supremacy of the Saxon, 
and the subjugation of Ireland to a foreign yoke. (Great cheering). 

"Whatever the consequences, whatever might be said, however rude for 
the moment the act might seem, no matter what the public, or fashion- 
able society, or cocked hats, or flunkeys, or fossils, or the whole of them 
might say, he would not lift his bayonets or dip his colors to the Prince, 
against whose claims to the sovereignty of his native land, it was the dar- 
ling wish and purpose of his heart one day, at the head of his regiment, — 
when some more propitious Summer then that of '48, should dawn in splen- 
dor upon the clouded fortunes of the Irish race — to dispute and extinguish 
forever. (Great cheering). 

A Voice — "A cheer for the men of '48." (Renewed cheering). 

And what did the public generally say to this? They said it was out 
of place. They said it was going too far. They said it was ail wrong, 
and that Michael Corcoran would find that he had made a great mistake. 
Others said that it was an insult to the people of New York: that Michael Cor- 
coran had snubbed and defied them; that he was an utterly unreliable character; 
and for his insubordination and bad faith should not only be dismissed from 
the militia, but deprived of his naturalization papers and his place in the 
Custom House. (Laughter and applause). Some went so far as to say that 
neither he nor his regiment were to be trusted in any emergency. That 
both were sure to be false to their military obligations should their servi- 
ces ever be required ; that they were nothing less than double-dyed trai- 
tors t© the Commonwealth, and should be branded as such: and the sooner 
the one was broken and the other disbanded with every proper ceremony 
of degradation, the better it would be for the safety and honor of New 
York in particular, and the Union at large. 

Against these sweeping condemnations, against these slanderous assevera- 
tions, what was the answer? To the utter confusion of those who had the 
insolent temerity to give them utterance, in what measure did the loyalty 
of Michael Corcoran and the 69th vindicate itself! 

Ntver was loyalty, good faith, devotion to the government and the Union, 
to its laws, authority, reunion and flag, with such a magnificent excess 
displayed, never with so dazzling an effect did an impeached soldier reverse 
the tide that had set in against him. Bounding to his feet from his sick 
bed, when the cry of "the Republic is in danger" went forth, going forth 



MEAGHER ON C OB C OBAN 355 

himself amongst the first of its defenders, cor.secratiug his sword and life 
to its defence, did he triumphantly rebuke the dolts and drivellers who had 
averred that a refusal to do homage to a foreign prince was incompatible 
with fidelity to the Republic. (Loud cheers). 

You remember, and never can forget, that sunny day in April 1861, 
when the 69th left this city with a sick and weary young Colonel at their 
head, to cross bayonets with the rebels, and bearing aloft the green flag 
presented to them in commemoration of the event on which I have so long 
dwelt, gave to the world the most sacred pledge that the Irish soldiers 
could give, that as they had been true to the land of their birth, her memo- 
ries, wrongs, and character, so should they be true to the land of their 
adoption, true in life and true in death to her rights to a nation, her sta- 
bility, her entire domain, her individual jurisdiction, her power and glory. 
(Cheers). 

A voice — Three cheers for the Irish Brigade and the man that com- 
mands it. (Cheers). 

As a soldier, Michael Corcoran furnished in his brief and brilliant 
career, a remarkable proof of the adaptability of the Irish race to military 
pursuits. Without the aid of scientific tutors, without the aid even of ele- 
mentary books, he rose steadily from the ranks through the several grada- 
tions of the regiment, and— fully qualified for it by his self-acquired 
knowledge, his clear perception, sound judgment, well-governed temper and 
thorough self-reliance — died as he deserved to die, in command of a division. 
Patient, diligent, indefatigable in the work of mastering the details and 
technicalities of the profession in the humbler duties of his military life, 
he was no less patient, no less diligent and indefatigable, in the discharge 
of those administrative duties which devolved upon him in the higher posi- 
tion to which he subsequently rose. 

Calm as he was firm, gentle as he was resolute, courteous as he was 
stern, kiud as he was dignified, just as he was severe, they were richly 
blended and wonderfully balanced in his character as a military chief, most, 
if not all, of those qualities which are popularly held to be inconsistent 
and conflicting, but without the possession of which, in equal proportions 
and nice adjustment, no military officer can claim perfection. 

Conscientious as he was brave, he acquitted himself of his obligations 
to his subordinates as well as to his superiors, with an alacrity and pre- 
cision which proved his heart in his task, however arduous and repugnant 
it might be. Ever anxious that whatever should be done should be promptly 



356 ME MOIES OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

and thoroughly done, he seldom gave an order of any consequence that he 
himself did not see to its execution, and in the same way, in the best 
spirit, whenever any enterprise of the least importance had to be under- 
taken, however small the lorce it might require, he was sure to be at its 
head, determined never to leave any business to others in which he could 
take a hand himself. (Applause). 

Calm as he was firm, seldom did any untoward circumstance destroy 
the evenness of his demeanor, his placidity of feature, the measured utter- 
ance of his words; and these words even in moments of general excite- 
ment and alarm were, on all occasions, the true interpreters of his disci- 
plined mind and temperament, so clear, so definite, so emphatically to the 
point did they impress themselves, pre-enting a frozen contrast almost to 
the impulsiveness with which the Irish soldiers are known to fight, and 
seeming to catch none of the enthusiasm which in the battle-field inflames 
the coldest, and under the influence of which an army in the face of death, 
deals their blows as though the ancient gods inspired them. But for this 
very reason he was all the more reliable and valuable as an officer, and 
better fitted for a command demanding a great amount of mental and physical 
activity. To this very calmness which was so strikingly characteristic of 
him, to this imperturbable steadiuess under fire, to this invincible self-control 
which gave the mastery to his transparent brain, may justly be ascribed 
the fact, that, overwhelmed as his regiment was, on the 21st of July, 1S61, 
at the battle of Manassas, by the hidden batteries of the enemy, the 69th 
withdrew in good order, fearlessly and deliberately. (Great applause). 

Gentle as he was resolute, seldom did an angry word, much less a pro- 
fane word, escape him in his social intercourse with his command, even 
when it was necessary for him to reprove and reprimand. Far more dis- 
posed to utter the word of friendly encouragement, and extend the helping 
hand — no admonition, no reproof, no censure fell from him that was not 
painfully forced; and never was a punishment awarded by him that he was 
not rigorously compelled to inflict. Disinterested, straightforward, just, 
and fearless in all he did, the very parties that incurred his severity the 
most, and were most impressively taught by him the lesson that the hap- 
piness and fortune of a soldier depend upon his subordination, were the first 
to acknowledge the goodness of his heart, his impartiality, the necessity of 
his being strict. Kind as he was dignified, whilst he never forgot what was 
due to his rank or permitted any of those familiarities to be taken, which 
amongst social equals are allowed, — but which the etiquette of military life 
cannot tolerate, but which would vulgarize and demoralize the service, — 



MEAGHER ON COB COB AN. 357 

the humblest private was free to come at any hour to Michael Corcoran 
had he a grievance which only he could redress, or some private sorrow 
which could only be relieved by the Colonel or the General. (Cheers). 

As I heard Father Paul Gillen, the devout and devoted Chaplain of the 
Irish Legion, say, as the prayers for the dead had been recited over the 
remains of my brave and noble friend, from the smallest drummer-boy to 
the officer next in rank to himself, every one had access to Michael Corcoran 
for advice, for comfort, for assistance; and never did any of his command 
leave him after telling him of his grief or difficulty, that the poor fellow, 
unburdened and elated, tad not feel that in Michael Corcoran he had a 
trusty leader, a just magistrate, a generous friend. (Cheers). 

How he was esteemed, loved and idolized by his officers and men ; how 
his death came upon them in their camps; how consternation and desola- 
tion took possession of them all, as though each one had lost the dearest 
trtasure of his life, you, ladies and gentlemen, should have witnessed the 
scene, as I did, at his quarters, the evening after he was borne home to 
his death-bed. 

There, in that very room which I had occupied for several days as his 
guest, and which, rendering his hospitality with all the thonghtfulness and 
warm-heartedness of a true-born Irish gentleman, he never failed to visit 
the last thing on retiring for the night, and the first thing in the morning, 
to see that I wanted nothing, and was as happy as he could make me; 
there, in that very room, he lay cold and white in death, with the hands 
which were once so warm in their grasp, and so lavish in their gifts crossed 
upon his breast, with a crucifix surrounded by lights standing at his head, 
and the good, dear old priest, who loved him only as a father can love a 
son, kneeling, praying, and weeping at the feet of the dead soldier. From 
the window in the corridor outside the room, the lifeless camps glistened 
in the cold air, no one now stirring in them but the solemn sentinels on 
their posts. Beyond the camps, the dark pine woods of Virginia stretched 
for miles, covering the country with a vast, deep, black forest. Beyond 
that again arose the mountains that overlooked Manassas, and were all in 
flame with the glow of the setting sun. 

One by one, as the sun went down, and the last rays, reflected from 
those mountains that had been the witness of his first trial under fire, fell 
upon that pale and tranquil face, the soldiers ot the Irish Legion moved 
in mournful procession around the death-bed, and, as they took their last 
look at him, I saw many a big heart heave and swell until tears gushed 
from many an eye and ran down the rough cheek of the roughest veteran. 



368 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGUER. 

Five days after the vault of Calvary Cemetery closed upon him, as the men 
he once commanded as a Captain, fired the farewell volleys. Never did the 
tomb close upon a more loyal citizen, never upon a braver soldier, never 
upon a truer Irishman. (Applause). 

As a citizen and soldier I have spoken of him, as an Irishman it remains 
for me to say a few words. 

Men of brilliant talents, men whose sympathies and brains find vent in 
poetry, in rhetoric, may have acquired a wider renown, a more glowing 
fame, but none even of the illustrious few that dared the most, suffered 
the most, achieved the most for the sake of Ireland, none were truer to 
the land of his birth, none loved her more sincerely, or had a more ear- 
nest desire to serve her, or did more to train and fit himself to take 
an eminent part in the achievement of her independence. (Applause). In- 
deed, the absence of showy and attractive talents, renders his patriotism all 
the more unquestionable. 

Patriotism is a grand theme for poetry, supplies the orator and the 
painter with many a subject for the display of their genius or their art, 
supplies the neediest politician with illimitable capital and introduction to 
the best society at Washington or Albany. But for him who is neither a 
poet nor an orator, nor an artist nor a politician, neither vanity nor ambi- 
tion, nor pride of intellect can animate him. The patriotism of such a man 
is patriotism of a simple and noble nature; and you can no more question 
it than you can question the ligtit of the sun, or the flowering of the for- 
est, or the depth of the sea, or the grandeur of the mountains. (Cheers.) 

I said, a moment ago, that Michael Corcoran had no ambition. I was 
wrong; he had ambition — the ambition to be recognized as the native of a 
free, instead of an enslaved, an honored instead of an abject race. (Cheers). 

Well did he know, and keenly did he feel, that the humble fortune 
and degraded condition, of the land that gave birth more or less affect the 
fortunes, the condition, the character of all those, who, true to her name, 
memories, faith and destiny, boast of their origin; well did he know and 
keenly did he feel that, in the celebrity and greatness of a nation the 
humblest that claims it for the nation of his nativity inevitably participates, 
and in proportion as it is elevated or degraded do its representatives abroad, 
whether they be laborers or merchants, conspicuous or obscure, find consid- 
eration or indifference. For his part, he was sensible of the humiliation and 
disabilities which an enslaved and impoverished country entails upon its 
people wherever they may scatter themselves, or however friendly may be 
the climes in which they stay their footsteps. 



MEAGHER ON CORCORAN. 359 



Thus, with him, did the glorious project of having Irelam^ re-established 
as a nation, with a fleet and army, a magistracy, a senate of her own — re- 
established in all the rights and privileges of a nation, the equal of the 
haughtiest, the oldest, the most powerful, with liberty and happiness, and 
the busiest, life at home, with credit, respectability, and a just measure of 
national authority abroad; thus, with him, did this project become the ulti- 
mate aim of his military life; and this it was which gave so much earnestness 
and solidity to his character. (Great applause). 

Heuce it was that, convinced that they were upon the true road, he 
joined the Fenian Brotherhood, under the auspices of which, these commem- 
orative words of their gallant Brother are this night spoken, and, finding in 
that Brotherhood men of his own high aim, did he remain faithful and 
serviceable to the last. (Cheers). How dear this organization was to him, and 
how sensitively he threw himself between it and whatever might impair its 
efficiency this letter to the Head Centre of the Brotherhood, Colonel John 
O'Mahony, abundantly testifies: — 

"National Cadets' Headquarters, 

69th Kegiment, N. Y. S. M. 

"Arlington Heights, May 29, 1861. 

" My dear O'Mahony. — I need not assure you I was sincerely glad to 
hear of your return, and truly gratified to hear from you. I deferred 
replying to you, with the hope of being able to do so more fully than 
even now, I find the severe press of duties will enable me to do. I can 
reconcile myself, however, to any drawback in this respect, being satisfied 
that you will understand the cause of it, and make the friendliest allow- 
ance for all shortcomings. 

" As to your joining us, as you propose, that I must tell you frankly, 
I cannot listen to you for a moment. irrespective of any other considera- 
tion, our Irish cause and organization in America would grievously, if not 
fatally, suffer by the withdrawal of your immediate services and supervision. 
It is absolutely necessary that you should remain at your own prescribed 
post — all the more necessary that others are compelled to be away for a 
time. That our organization will derive considerable impetus ai.d strength 
from the military enthusiasm prevailing here at present amongst our race, 
and may, indeed, have favorable opportunities opened out to it by the 
events that are transpiring, I am strongly impressed, if not positively con- 
vinced. It is, therefore, most essential that a man like you should remain 
to enlarge and perfect it. 



360 MEMOIRS OF GEX. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

" All this, however, does not in the least dissuade you from coming 
here on a visit to the camp — on the contrary, I myself, am most anrious 
you should come, and come as soon as possible, so that we may have a 
thorough consideration of matters interesting and endeared, and sacred to 
us both. The officers and men, too, of the 69th, will be delighted to see 
y OU — every one of them ; and whilst your presence, for a few days here, 
will cheer and stimulate them — recalling, as it will do, many of their most 
cherished . memories and hopes — you, yourself, I am confident, will derive 
increased confidence in the availability of our race for high military achieve- 
ments on their own soil from the appearance which the 60th presents. 

" On the receipt of this letter I trust you will find it convenient to 
come off to us at once, and I beg you to believe me, 

"Faithfully your friend, 

"Michael Corcoran. 
" To John O'Mahony, Esq., New York." 

But the faithful soldier, the faithful friend, the faithful Irishman sleeps 
to-nignt, not where he often wished, and praytd, and hoped he might be 
laid to rest — deep in the green sod, in the shadow of the pillar towers, 
with the great sea foaming as he was borne to his grave, with the ivied 
oak above his head, and with all the beautiful or heroic of the past speak- 
ing to those who came to bury him — speaking to them irom the rath, the 
cairn, the cloister, the holy well, in the cadence of the stream, in the 
legend, in the lyric, in the voices of the mountains : in the same rain, in 
the same sunshine, in the same wind, underneath the same sky and sham- 
rock he knew and loved and sported with in his childhood — deep in the 



* fohn O'Mahony, wishing to "train his soul to lead a line," and also to 6et an 
example which it behooved all Irishmen who aspired to strike a blow for their country's 
freedom, to loliow, had joined the G9th as a private. The exigencies of the organization 
In Ireland required his presence there in the winter of 1SG0,. and notwithstanding that he 
left that land a proscribed outlaw in 1848, and as such was liable to arrest on landing, 
he risked life and liberty at the call of duty. When he heard that war had commenced 
In America, and that the 69th had gone to the front, he hastened back to New York, 
and from thence wrote to C.lonel Corcoran announcing his intention of reporting for 
duty with his regiment It was in reply to that announcement that the Colonel sent him 
the foregoing letter. O'Mahony immediately paid a visit to the camp, and by his report 
of the state of affairs in Ireland at the date of his departure, infused fresh courage into 
the hearts of his gallant comrades, who hoped to turn their experience as soldiers of the 
Union to the benefit of their native land. 



MEAGHER ON COBCORAN. 361 

green sod, in the midst of those shadows, with all these familiar voices, 
with all these wild, tender, and glorious sights and influences about him — 
did he wish and pray and hope to be laid asleep. Brothers, see to it that 
his wish, his prayer, his hope shall be fulfilled. (Cries of "Aye, aye!" 
and cheers). In the meantime let him rest in the soil that is sacred to 
liberty, under the starry arch of the Eepublic he so nobly served, aud 
within sight of the city which honored him when dead as she honored him 
when living, and where his name will never sound strange to those by 
whom the ashes of Montgomery and Thomas Addis Emmet are gratefully 
and fondly treasured. 

General Meagher concluded amidst loud applause. 

Meagher a Fenian. 

Though Mr. Meagher was himself an enrolled member of the Fonian 
Brotherhood, when, under the auspices of that organization, he delivered 
the "Funeral Oration" on General Corcoran, yet the society had been in 
existence for years before he sought admission into its ranks. 

When, on the invitation of John O'Mahony, Michael Doheny, Michael 
Corcoran, and their associates of the "Emmet Monument Association Com- 
mittee," James Stephens came to New York to arrange with them for the 
formation of co-operative revolutionary organizations in Ireland aud America, 
he sought to enlist Thomas Francis Meagher in the project; but Meagher 
declined his overtures — on what grounds I cannot, positively, say. Buc 
that his refusal was not due to any change of principles or personal dis- 
like to participating in a renewed battle for Irish freedom on Irish soil, 
the following extract from a speech delivered by him about that time before 
the T. F. Meagher Club, conclusively shows: — 

" It may be, that the members of the T. F. Meagher Club, of the city 
of New York, recognize in the T. F. Meagher of 1858 the T. F. Meagher 
of 1818. If so, the members of the T. F. Meagher Club are not mistaken. 
Ireland may have changed, sir, but this heart has not — and never shall. 
The field of my duties and pursuits — of my social and political obligations 
— this field is no longer watered by the Suir, and the iron sceptre of the 
successor of Elizabeth, thrust across the gate, shuts out lrom his ancient- 
home the Celt who, for crimes against a foi-eign magistracy, cannot find ic 
in his heart to repent, aud as a Republican citizen never shall apostatize. 

"But for all that — for all the changes that have occurred — think noc 



362 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

that I shall stand with folded arms upon this new field, with an ignoble 
prudence and impunity awaiting the issue of the contest, if one of these 
days through the ocean there should flash from Valencia Bay the signal of 
a revolt in Ireland. Trampling upon the fragments of that sceptre — that 
iron sceptre sheathed in ivory and tipped with gold — as the rightful heir 
reinstated by his own right arm — it is thus alone that I desire to cross 
the threshold of my father's house." 

I believe that Meagher's determination to join the Fenian Brotherhood 
as a bona fide working member, was come to on Patrick's Day, 1861, after 
he had witnessed the First Begiment of the Phoenix Brigade march under 
the "Green Flag," which had, on that morning, been presented to them 
by the patriotic Irish ladies of New York. His natural soldier instincts 
were aroused as they had never been previously — and with good cause, for 
never were Irishmen more devoted to the cause which that flag symbolized 
than those over whom it waved on that day; physically, morally and intel- 
lectually, they were true representatives of the flower of their race. This 
fact was tacitly admitted by their fellow-citizens at large, even those who 
did not understand the actuating motives of the Fenian Brotherhood, and 
had no sympathy with their aspirations, respected them for their disinter- 
ested earnestness, and evident determination of purpose — as evinced by the 
sell-disciplined men, who were so enthusiastically applauded throughout their 
whole line of march on that occasion. Thenceforth, professional politicians, 
— who had heretofore attempted to sneer at them — learned to fear the 
men they could not cajole — for the healthy, self-respecting influence which 
they were perceptibly exercising on the masses of their fellow-countrymen. 

It was only a short time previously that Meagher had returned to New 
York from his latest Central American tour, and this exhibition of the Fenian 
Brotherhood's disciplined strength was a new revelation to him. In it he 
perceived the visible result of the years of unremitting, self-sacrificing labor, 
heroically undertaken by the founders of the organization, and especially by 
O'Mahony and Doheny — the only two of his '48 compatriots who, in their 
exile practically adhered to the principles lor which they and he had become 
armed rebels on their native hills. He resolved that, once again, his place 
should be by his old comrades' side. He would abandon the rostrum for 
the drill-room. 

To one of his impulsive temperament — to form a resolution was to act 
upon it promptly, and that evening he took the first step on the new road 
he had chosen for his future course. 



MEAGHER A FENIAN. 363 



Since his arrival in America, he had habitually participated in the Pat- 
rick's-night festivities of the " Friendly Sons of St. Patrick." 

This society was originally composed of wealthy residents of New York 

— the majority of them Irish — in name — not in heart — who, at their post 
prandial annual re-unions, were in the habit of toasting the health of the 
British Queen ! — their slavish excuse for this exhibition of gratuitous flun- 
keyism being, that, "the omission of the toast might offend the invited guests 
from their sister societies of St. George and St. Andrew." 

The officers of the 9th (Irish) Begiment determined to put an end, for 
ever, to this slavish custom, and, at the suggestion of Captain Michael 
Phelan, on St. Patrick's night, 1852, about a dozen of them attended the 
dinner with that object, and when, in due course, the obnoxious toast was 
proposed, they simultaneously reversed their glasses, while their selected 
spokesman, Captain John Brougham, gave expression to the universal indig- 
miJoti of his outraged countrymen in language so scathing that the flunkies 
were abashed, and thenceforth the offence was never repeated. Subsequently 
the most demonstrative of the pro-British members withdrew from the soci- 
ety, and, as this circumstance induced many genuine Irish gentlemen to join 
it, the association, in consequence, became respectable, though not as national 
as it might have been — lor it still numbered a considerable percentage of 
" Once-a-year Irishmen ! " on its list of members. 

Now, it so happened, that one of these latter gentry— a purse-proud, 
self-conceited individual, accosted Meagher while on his way from witness- 
ing the parade of the Fenian soldiers, and, in an offensively familiar tone, 
enquired : — 

"Are we going to have the pleasure of your company at the dinner 
to-nighc, Mr. Meagher?" 

Meagher, — who entertained a special antipathy to creatures of this class, 

— replied, coldly, that he *• didn't know!" 

"What?" retorted his provoking interlocutor, "sure you're not going to 
desert t<s. ? " 

Scorning a reply, Meagher walked indignantly away, but the idea of 
being charged with deserting such fellows as that, so irritated him, that 
he proceeded to the Fenian Brotherhood office to relieve his mind by a 
recital of the incident to sympathizing friends, and especially to Doheny — 
whom he expected to meet there— (as his office was in the same building). 
There was no one in at the time but Mr. James Boche and myself, and 
to us he related his story, and, at the same time exprtssed the determina- 
tion of keeping clear of all convivial celebrations for that night. 



361 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

He then turned to the subject of that day's parade, and expressed his 
particular admiration of the "Phoenix Zouaves" — a company which had the 
special advantage of being drilled by Sergeant Thomas Kiely of the United 
States Army — one of the "permanent party" on Governor's Island — and 
accounted by his fellow-veterans to be tl^e best instructor iu the " Bayonet 
Exercise " among the non-commissioned officers in the service. The uniforri 
of this company was modified from that worn by the French "Zouaves o 
Inkermau," who a short time previously had visited the United States — its 
novel appearance, at the head of the Fenian column, was hailed with 
enthusiastic cheers all along the line of march. Nor were its admirers con- 
fined to the Irish element. I remarked a mid.ile-aged Frenchman on Chat- 
ham street, excitedly giving vent to his ecstatic feelings by swinging hi? 
hat over his head — as he shouted at the top of his voice: — 
''•Viva la Zouaves Vlrlandais!'' 

Meagher was highly amused when 1 told the incident. 

Meagher on McMANti.-. 

On the 15th of January, 1861, Meagher's beloved friend and fellow-exile 
— Terence Bellew McManus, died in San Francisco. He was interred with 
the honors befitting a patriot and a Christian on the far-off slope of the 
Pacific. But he left behind him many another Irish exile, who honored 
him in life for his devotion to the land they loved as truly as he did, and 
who sympathized with him for the sacrifices he had made, and the suffer 
ings he had endured for her sake. Those great-hearted Irishmen perceived 
that the dead patriot could be made to exercise a greater influence on the 
destinies of his native land than ever he had been able to do in life, and 
with this impelling motive the members of the Fenian Brotherhood of San 
Francisco determined that the remains of the gallant outlaw should have a 
grave in the soil which he fought to free; that, enveloped in the folds of 
the " Starry Flag," from under which he had ere-while been torn, the dead 
rebel should be carried defiantly over the spot where the outrage had been 
perpetrated, and thus be made the medium of achieving a two-fold triumph 
over the common enemy of his native and adopted country. 

Their plan being matured, the Brotherhood in California communicated 
their design to Colonel Doheny— whom (iu Mr. O'Mahony's absence in Ire- 
land,) they recognized as the next of McManus's old comrades — connected 
with the organization — to take charge of the project in New York. 

Doheny entered most enthusiastically into the undertaking: he called 



MEAGHER ON McMANUS 



meetings of the leading Irish of New York, and permanent committees were 
formed in that and the other chief cities of the Union, in furtherance of the 
grand design. 

Meagher was one of the first and most enthusiastic to lend his active 
aid towards carrying out the programme indicated. 

As it was not intended to disinter the remains of the exiled patriot 
until the ensuing September, the intermediate time was intended to be 
devoted to making the necesssary preparations for their reception in New 
York, and their transmission from thence to Ire'.ind. 

As a portion of Meagher's share in the good work, he delivered a lecture 
in Irving Hall, on April 3d, on the " Life and Character of Terence Bellew 
McManus." It was one of his grandest orations, and comprised the fullest, 
truest, and most loveable account of his gallant brothers career. It is too 
long to publish here, but if space permits, it may find a place in the 
appendix. 

A few days after the lecture Mr. Roche informed me that Meagher 
purposed organizing a second regiment of the Phoenix Brigade, and wished 
that I should see him on the subject. This I did. and, on behalf of my 
comrades of the "Phoenix Zouaves," proffered the company to him as the first 
of his proposed regiment. He said that it would be a pity to detach that fine 
company from the "First Regiment of the Phoenix Brigade,*' but, on my 
assuring him that, by special permission of General Corcoran, Commander 
of the Military portion of the Fenian Brotherhood, the "Zouaves'" — who 
were uniformed as such by his suggestion — were unattached to any other 
command — he gladly consented to constitute them the First Company of 
the new regiment— which should adopt their uniform. He, however, sug- 
gested that, as it may seem presumptious on his part to undertake the 
raising of a Fenian Regiment on his own responsibility — it would be well 
if he received a formal invitation to that effect from some existing organ- 
ization of the Brotherhood. This 1 promised he should get after our next 
company meeting. 

[Note. — The following extracts from the " Minute Book " of the "Phoe- 
nix Zouaves," show the action of the compacy on the subject: 

"April ISth, 1861. 
" It was moved and seconded that a committee be appointed to draft a 
resolution expressive of the company's sentiments in tendering their services 
for the purpose of forming the First Company of the Second Regiment 



366 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

• Phoenix Brigade,' to be organized and commanded by our gallant country- 
man, Thomas Francis Meagher. — Carried." 

April 21st, 1861, 
'• A special meeting was convened for this evening, for the purpose of 

taking action upon the resolution which was to be presented to Mr. Meagher." 
: The following preamble and resolution were read and unanimously 

adopted : — 

" Whereas, we have learned with delight that our esteemed countryman, 
Thomas Francis Meagher, (having returned to New York,) has deter- 
mined to do his part in the renewed struggle for "the good old cause of 
the poor old country ; " and it being our opinion that his proper place in 
that struggle would be at the head of an armed and disciplined body of 
his fellow-exiles, pledged to that cause, — 

" Therefore, be it Resolved, That Mr. Meagher be respectfully requested 
to organize and command a second Regiment of the Phoenix Brigade in this 
city, and that we — the "Phoenix Zouaves " —solicit the privilege of consti- 
tuting its first company — pledging ourselves that where his sword leads 
our bayonets will follow — to 

' Strike For Our Own Again ! ' 
••Signed on behalf of the Company, 

" Thomas Kiely, Captain.''"] 

He then told me that he was going to Connecticut that evening, on a 
lecturing engagement; that, on his return — in the beginning of the next 
week, he would call on me for the document, and commence the organiza- 
tion of the regiment without further delay. 

But in the interval of Mr. Meagher's absence from New York, events 
transpired which upset our calculations, — changed and enlarged his sphere 
of action as a soldier of Liberty, — and exercised a permanent influence on 
his luture destiny. 

For the clouds which had long been ominously gathering on the polit- 
ical horizon, had, in those few days culminated in the zenith, and suddenly 
sent forth a thunderbolt which set the nation on fire : — 

The Flag of The Union Had Been Fired Upon! 



THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 367 



CHAPTER LVIII. 



OPENING OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 
The Banner. 

Little I know what hero hand 

First flung a "Banner" on the air, 
And gave to every eye that scanned, 

The legend of its purpose there: — 
But well I know it was a deed 

Of right heroic, pious strain,— 
To lift the spell-worn of its creed 

Above the slayers and the slain — 

Above the purple battle-rain — 
Above the tumult trampled sod — 
And fly it, silent in the face of God! 

Martin MacDekmott. 

Though, from the day on which Thomas Francis Meagher obtained his 
" certificate of citizenship," he professed the political principles of the Dem- 
ocratic party, and, occasionally spoke at its meetings, yet he never felt 
hampered by the trammels of partizanship. The spoils of office had no 
attraction for him. His convictions were based upon constitutional princi- 
ples and not upon personal interests, or the exigencies of party. In the 
controversy between the North and the South his sympathies were entirely 
with the latter — up to the moment when, by an overt act of treason, the 
integrity of the Union was menaced and the mask of constitutionality cast 
aside. 

" On the day on which we held the afore-mentioned interview I heard 
him relate the substance of an argument he had with his father-in-law 
belore leaving the house that morning— which will show the warmth of his 
feelings towards the South. Mr. Townsend was an ardent Republican, and 
in the friendly controversy he doesn't seem to have been choice in his 
epithets, for he characterized the Southerners as a "set of rebels.'' Meagher, 
objecting to the disparaging phrase, retorted : — 



3GS MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FEANCIS MEAGHEE. 

"You cannot call eight millions of white freemen '■rebels^ sir; — you 
may call them ' revolutionists ' if you will." 

Continuing his narrative of that morning's experiences — he told tbat^ 
while on his way down town, he went with a friend into "Delmonico's," and 
there found a party discussing the all-engrossing topic of the time. One of 
the disputants, — who had been vehemently denouncing the Southerners — 
turned, smilingly, towards Meagher, and remarked : — 

" But perhaps I am going rather too far in present company." 

To this Meagher — in his coolest and most distinctively incisive tone, 
■eplied : — 

" If you refer to me, sir, I tell you candidly and plainly that, in this 
controversy, my sympathies are entirely with the South ! " 

I state those incidents here, for the purpose of showing the strength of 
nis patriotism and his devotion to the maintenance of the Republic in it- 
integrity — which, in a moment, overcame all personal predilections and pre- 
conceived opinions on the question at issue. 

Meagher returned from Connecticut on Monday morning, April 22d, and 
called at the Fenian Brotherhood office, No. 6 Centre street, when I handed 
him the document embodying the resolution of the ("Phoenix Zouaves") 

company. He read it with evident satisfaction — and said: — 
> 
" I suppose I am expected to reply to this in writing." 

I told him that I presumed the "boys" would be pleased to have him 
do so — at his leisure. He had the paper still in his hand — when our con- 
versation was interrupted by the entrance of Lieutenant-Colonel Nugent, of 
the 69th Regiment — then under orders to proceed to Washington. Meagher 
had just transferred the paper to his breast pocket,* when Colonel Nugent 
enquired : — 

"Well, Mr. Meagher !— what do you think of affairs now?" 

Mr. Meagher answered : — 

" I don't know what to think of them, — I never saw such a change in 
public opinion as has taken piaee curing the past week. — 1 feel like one 
carried away by a torrent. The whole cry is — ' The Fag ! ' ' The Flag ! ' 



♦In a collection of Highly prized documents, in MSS. and print, connected with the 
General's military career, which has been kindly placed at my disposal by Mrs. Meagher. 
I find this Resolution of the " Phoenix Zouaves" carefully preserved- 




Battle Flag ok the Iiusii Brigade. 



THE WAB FOB THE UNION: 369 

Then he exclaimed energetically — '■'•Damn them! that didn't let that '■flag' 
clone.''' 

Colonel Nugent— observing how deeply Meagher was moved — then saic : 

"As you feel that way, Mr. Meagher, perhaps you might take a notu 
of coming with us?" 

Meagher — after a moment's reflection, answered: — 

" I do not know but I might." 

Soon after Colonel Nugent went away, remarking, as he left: — ■ 

'• You'll think over this, Mr. Meagher ! " 

The reply was — "I will think of it." 

Wnen we were again alone, I earnestly enquired : — 

"Did you mean that, Mr. Meagher?" (for knowing his sentiments, — as 
expressed a few days previously — to be so favorable to the South — I could 
not, at once, comprehend the cause of so sudden and radical a change — 
but he soon enlightened me, as in answer to my enquiry he said) : 

"Yes! I did mean it — for, looking at every aspect of the question, I 
do not see what better course I could take. Duty and patriotism alike 
prompt me to it. The Republic, that gave us an asylum and an honorable 
career, — that is the mainstay of human freedom, the world over — is threat- 
ened with disruption. It is the duty of every liberty-loving citizen to pre- 
vent such a calamity at all hazards. Above all is it the duty of us Irish 
citizens, who aspire to establish a similar form of government in our native 
land. It is not only our duty to America, but also to Ireland. We 
could not hope to succeed in our effort to make Ireland a Republic 
without the moral and material aid of the liberty-loving citizens of these 
United States. That aid we might rely upon receiving at the proper time. 
But noic, when all the thoughts, energies, and resources of this noble people 
are needed to preserve their own institutions from destruction — they cannot 
spare either sympathy, arms, or men, for any other cause. 

" Auother thought forces itself upon me in connection with the hopes 
we entertain for Ireland. It is a moral certainty that many of our coun- 
trymen who enlist in this struggle for the maintenance of the Union will 
fall in the contest. Cut, even so; I hold that if only one in ten of us 
come back when this war it over, the military experience gained by that 
one will be of more service in a fight for Ireland's freedom than woulu 
that of the entire ten as they are now." 

Such, in brief, were Thomas Francis Meagher's reasons for taking hi- 
stand promptly and unreservedly, under the symbol of the Republic's sovc- 

24 



370 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

reignty. They were his first utterances on the subject, unpremeditated as 
they were, and springing spontaneously from hi* heart, they were enunci- 
ated with the deliberation and force of matured conviction, and, in their 
comprehensive grasp of all the issues involved, exhibited an intuitive clear- 
ness of perception that seemed akin to inspiration. 

Those opinions were subsequently expounded more elaborately in the 
many eloquent speeches delivered by this devoted champion of liberty dur- 
ing the progress of the war. 

I, although regretfully, felt compelled to coincide with nis conclusions 

— rendered uncoutravertable as they were by the stern logic of existing 
facts ; and under the circumstances, I undertook to reconcile the Company 
to the acute disappointment which I knew they would all feel on learning 
his decision. 

Requesting me to assure the "Zouaves" of his abiding appreciation of 
their regard, and of his hope of yet leading them on the field of their choice 

— he left me — to consult Colonel Corcoran, as to the most effective mode 
of carrying out his intentions. 

When John O'Mahony went to Ireland, in the winter of 1860, Colons 1 
Corcoran took his place as Chief Officer, pro tern, of the Fenian Brotherhood. 
Now, that urgent duty called him, also, away from his active labors in the 
cause of his Fatherland, to the defence of the flag of his adopted country, 
he keenly felt the gravity of the situation, and the onerous responsibility 
it devolved upon him. 

He knew that the first shot fired at the flag on Fort Sumter revolu- 
tionized Irish political sentiment throughout the North, and he feared its 
eftect on the ardent young spirits whom it had been his pride to train, — 
with the hope of one day leading them in disciplined strength on their 
native hills. Actuated by those feelings, when on Sunday, April 21st, he 
addressed the New York Fenian Brotherhood, he earnestly implored all who 
were not members of the State Militia to hold aloof from the fratricidal 
strife, and reserve their lives for the cause to which they were already 
pledged. 

He said that there were ten times as many of their countrymen (who 
were not yet enrolled Fenians,; as he required — volunteered to join the 
" Sixty-ninth ; " therefore, so far as the strength of the Eegiment was con- 
cerned, there was no occasion for depleting Ireland's ranks to fill it. But, 
he added, that if, notwithstanding all he could say to dissuade them, any 
of his brother Fenians were still determined to go to the war, he preferred 



THE WAIi FOR THE UXIOX. 371 

that they should go with their own countrymen than have their services 
unappreciated, and their national identity lost among strangers. 

He counselled those who stayed behind to make redoubled exertions dur- 
ing the absence of their comrades, so that, when they met again they would 
find the cause stronger than ever. Referring to the departure of the " Sixty- 
ninth"— on the following Tuesday, he invited his brothers — the u Phoenix 
Zouaves" — to act as the regiment's escort on their march through the city. 

On the next day, General Corcoran issued the following official circular, 
— a copy of which was transmitted to every circle of the Fenian Brother- 
hood : — 

a 6 Centre street, New York,") 
April 22d, 1861. j 

"My Dear Sir, — A sudden emergency calls me for a time from the 
duty entrusted to me by Mr. O'Mahony. The call is so imperative that I 
must obey whatever consequences may follow. With the consent of the Di- 
rectory, I have appointed Mr. John Murphy to act in my stead, but as his 
business will keep him away from the office, it has been deemed advisable 
that all communications should be addressed to Mr. Cavanagh, the Secre- 
tary. This will insure dispatch and regularity. 

"I am leaving in great spirits and hope. My last wish and most ardent 
desire is that the organization should be preserved in its strength and effi- 
ciency, and that every man will do his whole duty. We will not be the 
worse for a little practice, which we engage in, with the more heart because 
we feel it will be serviceable on other fields. 

" With the warmest wishes for yourself and your Circle, 
" I am, my dear sir, 

" Yours Fraternallv, 

"Miciial Corcoran." 

But in spite of the Fenian Brotherhood's determination to hold aloof 
from the American party strife, the course of events inevitably drew the 
citizen soldiers of Ireland into the vortex which threatened to engulf the 
constitutional liberty of their adopted land. They could view unmoved the 
wordy war of political factions, embittered by sectional prejudices, but they 
could not stand the insult to the Flag under whose protecting folds they 
and theirs found shelter when driven by persecution from their old home. 

When the Sixry-ninth responded to the Union's call, — as a matter of 



372 MEMOIRS OF CiEX. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

course— all the young soldiers of the "Phoenix Brigade," who were affili- 
ated therewith,' promptly took their places in the rar&s with their older 
associates, and personal friendship, and patriotic enthusiasm, led several of 
their brother-Fenians to accompanying them to the field. Such of them as 
joined the Union army in the month following the departure of the Sixty- 
ninth, generally followed Colonel Corcoran's advice — by concentrating in 
such Irish regiments as the Thirty-seventh N. Y. V., (" Irish Rifles,") the 
Forty-second N. Y. V., (Tammany Regiment,) and the Eighty-second N. Y. 
V., (formerly the "Second Regiment N. Y. S. M.") But on the whole — 
under the circumstances — the men of the "Phoenix Brigade" remained as 
steadfast as could be expected to their original purpose. 

But when the war deepened in tragic intensity, and when, — at the call 
of Meagher and Corcoran — the "Irish Brigade!" and "Irish Legion!" sprang 
to uphold the nation's honor, and the ancient reputation of their heroic 
race, — then it was that the Fenian element made itself felt in the Union 
Army by its bravery and ability. The number of officers it contribued to 
the cause may be partly estimated from the annexed quota supplied by a 
single company — the before mentioned "Phcenix Zouaves:" One Lieuten- 
ant-ColoneJ, two Majors, three Captains, four Lieutenants; and of non-com- 
missioned officers — two Sergeant-Majors, and two Sergeants.* 



*Of these officers two were killed in action, and seven wounded. 



MARCH OF THE SIXTY NINTH. 373 



CHAPTER LIX. 



DEPARTURE OF THE SIXTY-NINTH, 

April 23d, 1861. 

Oh! 'twas a gallant day, 

In memory still adored, 
That day of our sun-bright nuptials, 

With the musket and the swon ! 
Shrill rang the fifes, the bugles biared, 

And beneath a cloudless Heaven. 
Twinkled a thousand bayonets, 

And the swords were thirty-si ven. 

Chakles <jr. Halpine. 

Of the half million human beings who witnessed the ovation given the 
Sixty-ninth on their march down Broadway on that memorable 23i of April, 
1S61, but few of the survivors have forgotten the thrilling scene, and least 
of all those of Irish birth or blood. They alone could comprehend it, for 
they alone could sympathize with, and share in, the commingled feelings 
that found expression in the stormy cheers, and passionate prayers; the 
exultant pride, exuberant joy, and rapturous hope of the departing heroes; 
and the tears and blessings, the regrets, the caresses, and low, moaning 
wail of the dear ones who sorrowfully and lovingly bade them what might 
be a last farewell. Mother, wife, sister, sweet-heart, all giving free vent to 
the well-springs of feeling, bubbling fresh and pure from their impulsive, 
kindly Irish hearts. 

Nor were those manifestations of genuine Celtic nature confined to the 
relatives and near personal friends of the soldiers. How could they, on 
such an occasion, and with such surroundings? Not a man or woman 
of their sympathetic race could witness their emotions without being 
similarly affected. This was observable in the pale or flushed faces, the 
quivering, compressed lips, and misty eyes, of rough, horny-handed toilers 



374 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

who, commisseratiugly, looked on in respectful though silent sympathy; and 
in the unrestrained tears and audible wailings of the maids and matrons who 
constituted half, at least, of the dense and ever increasing crowd that surged 
and swayed about their armed countrymen, during the hours in which the 
regiment was detained at the junction of Great Jones street and Broad- 
way, by the delay of the military authorities in furnishing the necessary 
equipments. 

A little before three o'clock a loud and prolonged cheer announced the 
arrival, at the right of the line, of Colonel Corcoran — accompanied by 
Thomas Francis Meagher and Judge Charles P. Daly. The last-named gen- 
tlem, on behalf of his estimable lady, presented the regiment with a hand- 
some silk flag of the Stars and Stripes, which was placed beside the Green 
flag presented a short time previously by the citizens of New YorK to the 
[Sixty-ninth, in appreciation of its action in declining to parade before the 
Prince of Wales. Then the long-expected command to march was given, 
and, under both flags, the regiment wheeled into Broadway, and proceeded 
down that noble thoroughfare on their way to the boat at Pier number 
four North River. 

Then commenced the culminating scene of that eventful day — a scene 
the like of which has never been v\iiuessed in New York, or (with, per- 
haps, one exception,) been participated in by the "• Children of the Gael" 
— either at home or abroad. 

Michael Doiteny. one of the most interested and deeplj-- affected wit- 
nesses of this outburst of genuine Celtic feeling, — whose great, loving, Irish 
heart throbbed responsive to every emotion which swayed the hearts of the 
mighty multitude — drew T a parallel between it, and the exception referred 
to above — the "Sailing of the Wild Geese;" — which, he, justly, observed, 
kw must have surpassed it in the grandeur of its sorrow, but fallen short of 
it in enthusiasm." Continuing the description,, he writes: — 

" Every heart bled, every eye was wet, every face was flushed, every 
bosom palpitated. The highest passions of the Celtic race were stirred to 
their very depths. Vehemence, ardor, devotion, fidelity, strong, deep, untold 
love, were in the hearts and acts of all." 

Yet, whatever, general resemblance there may have been between the 
picture of Sarsfield's veterans parting from wives and children on the quay 
of Cork, and that presented by the departure of the Sixty-ninth from New 
York, there was an essential difference in the emotions which swayed the 
htarts of the principal figures in eittier of these historical scenes. The "De- 



MAUCH OF THE SIXTY NINTH 375 

fenders of Limerick" left country and kindred with hearts filled with blackest 
hate and an implacable thirst for vengeance on the treacheious foes who, 
at the last moment, prevented their families from accompanying them into 
voluntary exile, while utter despair overwhelmed the poor disconsolate vic- 
tims thus abandoned, and found expression in that agonized, soul-piercing 
wail, which, in concentrated misery, has never had a parallel on God's 
earth : — 

"Their women's parting cry." 

But no trace of despair was perceptible in the impassioned actions or 
utterances of those Irish women and girls who lined Broadway on that 
sunny April afternoon, and gave free vent to their emotions as their coun- 
trymen swept past, — though "sorrow," "regret," and "pity" found fre- 
quent and audible expression, and fears for the safety of son, brother, or 
"friend" were occasionally whispered between sympathetic acquaintances. 

But the sentiment which found most frequent expression from old anil 
young, was not that of sorrow or regret that their countrymen were going 
to battle — but that they were not going to battle on another field. 

"Oh! what haim if they were going to fight elsewhere?" 
"What harm if *t v as to Ireland they were going?" 

These aud similar expressions were repeated in such fervid and pathetic 
tones, all along the line of march, as to force sympathetic tears from nearly 
all who heard them — men, or women, of their warm-hearted race. At the 
halts along the route, — (and they were frequent and at brief intervals — 
owing to the difficulty of forcing a passage through the crowded street), — 
impulsive rushes would be made for the soldiers, — kisses and prayers show- 
ered on them by their afi'tctionate, sobbing countrywomen — with a 

" God bless ye, boys, and send ye safe home ! " 

"While a strong grasp of the hand, and a fervid 

b * Remember your country, and ktep up its credit, boy!" spoke the 
feelings of the men. 

Little cared they — those exiled "Children of the Gael!" — what were 
their present surroundings, or who witnessed this ebullition of their feel- 
ings. They were \ arting ''•their own" — perhaps forever; and were oblivious to 
every thing else in that all-absorbing fact. 

As "despair" found no expression in the emotions of their loving- 
hearted sisters, so neither had " hatred," or a thirst for revenge, a place 
in the hearts or thoughts of the brave fellows who were the recipients of 



376 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

their affectionate leave-takings, and who resolutely marched to confront in 
deadly contest, men who, a week before, were their fellow-citizens, but now 
— through some inconceivable fatality, transformed into enemies of the Con- 
stitution and Flag they had pledged their lives to defend. Honest pride in 
their adopted country; a feeling of gratitude which intensified their sense 
of duty to that country in its hour of peril, and an abiding hope of being 
some day — if God spared them — enabled to devote their soldierly experience 
to the liberation of the land of their birth and first love, — these constituted 
their actuating motives, and nerved them for whatever fate was in store 
for them. And so they wended their way to the boat, far less impressed 
by the spirit-stirring music of the bands, or the thrilling cheers which, from 
sidewalk to house-top greeted them on their line of march, than by those 
plaintive, affectionate salutations, conveyed in the familiar accents which 
filled their hearts wih tender memories of their old home — in that loved Isle 
beyond the sea. 

It was near 6 o'clock, p. M., when the Sixty-ninth embarked on board 
the "James Adger," and sailed for Annapolis, Md. They reached Annapolis 
on the 26th, and were assigned quarters in the Naval Academy and the 
adjoining grounds. The next day they were assigned to duty in guarding 
the railroad between Annapolis aud Annapolis Juuctiou. Two days after- 
wards thty received orders to march for Washington, by way of the rail- 
road — which had been destroyed, and which it was their mission to repair 
and defend, as they marched over it to the capital. 

Thtir services were so well appreciated by the government officials that, 
on the day of their expected arrival in the city General Spinner, afterwards 
Treasurer of the United States, addressed the following letter, on their 
behalf, to the Secretary of War : — 

"Treasurer's Office, May 2, 1S61. 
"My Dear General: 

" The Sixty-ninth New York regiment will be here to-day. The regi- 
ment has, as you know, been on active duty along the line of the railroad 
from here to Annapolis, and has, of course, had no rest. It is essential 
that it should have the best quarters that can be had. I have reasons for 
making the request. 

"Very respectfully yours, 

"Spinner, M. C. 
"Gen. S. Cameron, Sec'y of War." 

Upon this suggestion the fceeretary of War issued the following order: 



MARCH OF TEE SIXTY-XINTH 377 



Headquarters, Department Washington, 
May 4, 1861. 



" The Sixty-ninth Regiment, New York, is authorized to occupy George- 
town Heights, and the College, until further orders. 

U J. K. Mansfield,, 

" Col. and Commandant." 

In a letter to Mr. Richard O'Gorman, Colonel Corcoran thus alludes to 
their new quarters : — 

May 8th, 1861. 
" I could not finish my letter last evening in time for the mail. The 
President, with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War and other 
members of the Cabinet, visited us to-day and reviewed the regiment. 

" The Secretary of War sent an order to New York, for Thomas F. 
Meagher's Company and a few hundred whom I was obliged to leave behind. 
They are to march via Baltimore. I received Captain Meagher's letter, but 
am so busy, (even his case occupied me a little in endeavoring to arrange 
for his coming forward,) that I have to request you to have me excused 
for not writing to him. When I meet him here, which will be in a few 
days, I shall then make up for the matter, and make him feel happy — 
more happy than I could by writing twenty pages. 

"The nag-stafl' is up, and the cheering has not died away. The pole ia 
ninety feet high, made from two stately trees cut on this ground. I ma 
desirous of describing our present quarters, but lime will only permit me 
to do it very briefly. The rooms are large enough to drill in by Company ; 
the dining-room accommodates five hundred at a time; the Company's store 
is capable of containing thirty days' provisions for the men. We have sixty- 
five water tanks for the men to wash in. There are pumps in all parts of 
the yard, four ball alleys, and all kinds of gymnastic exercises, an excellent 
parade ground, and miles of the most beautiful walks. I wish you could 
find time to run out and see us before we move. 

" With kindest wishes to all friends, 

i4 l remain very truly your, 

'Michael Corcoran, 

•' Col. 69th Reg't." 

Before the Regiment was mustered into the service of the United States, 



378 MEMOIRS OF OEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

Colouel Corcoran, by personal application to President Lincoln, obtained an 
order from the War Department authorizing him to increase its strength by- 
three hundred men. This reinforcement it was intended, should include a 
company of " Zouazes," commanded by Thomas Francis Meagher, and such 
members of the Regiment as had been unable to join it on the day of its 
departure from New York. 



CHAPTER LX. 



ORGANIZATION OF MEAGHER'S IRISH ZOUAVES. — REMINISCENCES 
OF FORT CORCORAN. 

Tn his consultation with Colonel Corcoran — on the day before the Sixty- 
ninth left New York— Meagher ascertained that. — as the '-Brigade Lan- 
cers," (which command was attached to the Sixty-ninth,) could not go with 
the Regiment — there was a vacancy of one company, "K," to be filled. 
This was the opportunity Meagher wished for, and he took immediate steps to 
organize the i\ quired Company. It had been arranged between himself and 
Colonel Corcoran that the new Company should be designated the "Irish 
Zouaves," and wear the Zouave uniform. Meagher's own uniform was made 
on the pattern of that worn by an officer of the "Phcenix Zouaves." 

The following call for recruits was issued April 22d, 1S61: 

" Young Irishmen To Arms! 

" To Arms Young Irishmen ! 

"Irish Zouaves. 

-One hundred young Irishmen — healthy, intelligent and active — wanted 
at once to lorm a Company under command of 



MEAGHER'S IRISH. ZOUAVES 379 

" Thomas Francis Meagher. 

u To be attached to the 69th Regiment, N. Y. S. M. No applicant 
under eighteen or above thirty-five will be enrolled inthe Company. 

"Application to be made at 36 Beekman street, every day, between the 
hours of 10 A. M. and 5 P. M." 

Before the end of that week the required number of recruits were en- 
rolled, the officers elected, and the Company drilling industriously in one of 
Captain Phelan's large rooms, at his billiard establishment, corner of 10th 
street and Broadway. There they remained for three weeks longer, for, 
owing to the delay of the State Government in mustering them into the 
service, they did not leave for AVashiugton until the 22d of May. Meagher 
had, pending the enforced delay, paid a visit to the 69th at their quarters 
in Georgetown, and returned to New York much pleased with the progress 
made by the Regiment in their military exercises. 

On the night of the 23d he entered the National Capital at the head 
of his Company and about two hundred other recruits for the 69th. 

A correspondent for one of the New York papers gives the following 
account of his reception: — 

"Last night, about eleven o'clock, I was standing near the corner of 
Pennsylvania avenue and 11th street. The music of a fine band from the direc- 
tion of the White House swelled down the street. I thought it was the band 
from the President's, Old Abe having held a reception to which the officers of 
the various corps now stationed in this city had been invited. As it came nearer 
it sounded extremely like the music of a New York band. See what instinct 
does!' The band was accompanied by about two hundred men in full uni- 
form, and quite a number of officers. 

" A line was formed near 7th street, arms presented — the band struck 
up, and two mounted officers rode past. There was an unrestrainable cheer 
from the' ranks, and if their hands had not been holding arms Celtic enthu- 
siasm would have elevated some hats and caps in the air. The line of 
march was taken this time up the avenue: the two mounted officers, pre- 
ceded by the baud and commandants, and followed by the detachment. 

" By this time, late as the hour was, a large concourse of people had 
assembled. The band was Robertson's — the troops a portion of the 69th. 
One of the mounted officers, as seen by the starlight and the glimmer 
of the lamps on the corners, was a moustached, stoutly built gentle- 
man, dressed in a black coat and a hat looped up at the side. He was 



380 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

the object of attraction. A citizen of Washington, commendably curious t< 
know who was the stout, military-looking man, who sat his horse so well, 
asked a by-stauder. 

"'That,' said the party interrogated, 'is Thomas Francis Meagher, come 
on with another regiment from Xew York.'' 

"And so it was. Up the avenue the soldiers and the crowd went together. 
Past Willard's — by the Treasury Building — on still further, the lights iu 
the reception rooms of the White House still burning, between the statues 
of Jefferson and Jackson, the Tribune went, followed by the crowd to his 
quarters at Georgetown. 

"Opposite, or rather between the two figures, i stopped and watched 
the procession as it advanced. Going 'Sack to my quarters, the strains of 
the music floating downward from the hills above to the city below, under 
the quiet sky, I could not help reflecting much on the life of him whr 
•was the recipient of the night's honor. The youth inspired by 'the clou iv 
and lightning genius of the Gael,' a young generation, of whom I was one. 
hung upon his lips, and hoped to follow him to victory and the revivifioa- 
tion of an old nation : the brave, sad effort, the trial, the transportation 
the escape from bondage; and now a volunteer in the grand army of tiin 
Republic. Through all he has carried with him the same pure, proud, hon- 
orable heart; the same kindly and generous feelings and sympathies, »«d 
the same intense scorn for the base and venal. May he triumph ! " J. li. 

The Sixty-ninth in Virginia. — Construction of Fort Corcoran. 

On the day succeeding that or Meagher's reporting for duty at Regi- 
mental Headquarters, the Sixty-ninth received orders to cross the Potomac 
into Virginia. Before leaving Georgetown, Colonel Corcoran received a letter 
from the Mayor, expressive of that official's high estimate of the good order 
and patriotism of his Regiment. 

The low range of hills known as " Arlington Heights," extend for about 
five miles on the Virgiuia side of the Potomac, and at an average distance 
of half a mile from that river. "Arlington House" is situated in about 
the middle of the range, and is directly opposite the city of VVashiugcon, 
and between the two bridges leading lruin the Virginia shore to that city. 

The upper one of those bridges, known as the Aqueduct-Bridge, leads 
directly into Georgetown. Several deep raviues extend down the slope o: 
the Heights to the river. At the commencement of the war, both the 
ravines and the whole eastern face of the Heights were thickly wooded. 



CONSTRUCTION OF FORT CORCORAN 381 

The summit of the range constitutes a fairly level table-land, from which 
the ground slopes to the west at a gradual incline. 

When, in May, 1861, the government determined to occupy Arlington 
Heights and Alexandria, a force of about eight thousand men crossed the 
river for that purpose, and each command immediately commenced the erec- 
tion of strong earthworks on their several positions. To the Sixty-ninth 
was assigned the hill nearest the Aqueduct-Bridge, and commanding the road 
leading westward to Fairfax Court House. 

On the level summit of this hill, the site of a bastioned fort, six hun- 
dred and fifty by four hundred and fifty feet, ,was staked out by the engi- 
neers, and the regiment at once set to work throwing up increnchments 
and cutting down the timber in the vicinity of the camp. Such was the 
energy with which they labored, that the work which it was calculated 
would occupy three thousand men for three weeks, was finished by twelve 
hundred in a week. 

During the progress of the work, the President, and several members of 
his Cabinet paid the Sixty-ninth a visit, aud by their well-merited praises, 
gave much encouragement to the men in their arduous labors. Mr. Lincoln's 
affable manner and cheerful badinage made him an especial favorite with 
these rough-and-ready appreciators of genuine kindness and good humor. 

Colonel Corcoran named these defences "Fort Seward," in honor of the 
Secretary of State, who had shown the regiment many acts of kindness, 
but the War Department, in consideration of the efficiency of the Sixty- 
ninth, and their unceasing physical exertions, and as a token of respect to 
their Colonel, insisted that the fort they built should bear his name, and 
be recognized in future operations as " Fort Corcoran ! " 

Hoisting the Starry-Banner in "Dixie." — Dedicatory Ceremonies. 

On the afternoon of Thursday, May 30th. the "Stars and Stripes" were 
unfurled to the breeze by Captain James Cavanagh of Company C, Sixty-ninth 
Regiment, to that company being delegated the honor of first raising in 
Fort Corcoran the flag of the United States. 

Henry Watterson, Esq., — the distinguished journalist — was present on 
that occasion, and some time subsequently contributed to the Philadelphia 
Press, over the nom de plume of " Asa Trenchard," a description of the 
proceedings — entitled : — 



MEM01BS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



"The First Flag-Kaising Over Federal Battlements in the Old 
Dominion," 

which, as an interesting historical episode in the carer of the gallant Sixty- 
ninth, cannot be omitted from any chronicle that would record the strength 
and patriotism which constructed Fort Corcoran. 

Arriving just in time for the "grand, imposing spectacle," he says: — 

"As I stood and surveyed the hastily-summoned regiment — thirteen hundred 
of them — some in red flannel shirts, with sleeves rolled up, exposing the 
grand sinews of brawny amis ; some in blue jackets, soiled with the toil of 
the trenches; some in white flowing havelocks; some in cocked hats, and 
some bare-headed, it was impossible to repress an audible expression of 
admiration at the splendid material represented for the work or the glory 
of war. There the dark brows, lowering from massive foreheads over flashing 
eyes; there, pale but bleachless cheeks to fear, knit closely to impreg- 
nable lips, the craters of flaming and invincible breath, the pride and prowess 
of representative Ireland, the issue of that spreading Celtic seed which has 
sown the world with power, stood before me. 

" The troops were drawn up in a semicircle, gradually rising within the 
amphitheatre formed by the mounds of earth-erected batteries, the front 
flies sitting, the next grade stooping, and the rear ranks standing upon the 
declivity, as it sloped upward toward the ' outer walls,' the whole present- 
ing the spectacle of a circus audience, seen from the centre-post in the 
ring; this centie post being a noble shaft from which the banner now 
waves. 

"The group around this 'pillar of ligkt ' were Colonel Corcoran (uow 
General,) Colonel Hunter (now Major-General) of the regular army, Captain 
Meagher (now Brigadier-General,) John Savage, volunteer aid to Colonel 
Corcoran, and, of course, ' Asa Trenchard.' 

"Now for the ceremony: 

"First, Colonel Corcoran introduced Colonel LTunter, who nad just been 
assigned the command of the Brigade of the Aqueduct, consisting of the 
Fifth, Twenty-eighth, and Sixt}'-ninth New York regiments, making some 
patriotic allusions to the flag. Colonel Hunter was, of course, received with 
lould acclaim. (He said he had never made a speech, but he would wish 
every success to brave, generous, and valorous Ireland). 

"Then Meagher was called out by the throng. He stepped forward and 



FIRST FL AG- RAISING. 



made a brief but patriotic and high-toned address, showing the devotion 
Irishmen should bear the flag which brought succor to them in Ireland* 
and to which, upon landing in this country, they swore undivided alle- 
giance. It w'as heartily applauded throughout. 

(Meagher commenced by saying tbat "he hari labored under the expec- 
tation, in fact, the conviction, that he would be relieved from the obliga- 
tions which Fate had decreed him in civil life, of making speeches, and 
indulging in oratorical display, wherever and whenever his presence might lie 
discovered, but he found that even on the tented field, his inexorable destiny 
still pursued him. He continued for some time in one of those beautiful 
and happy efforts for which he was so pregnant, and concluded with the 
sentiment that he "hoped the 69ih would stand by the flag until the ban- 
ner of the entire Union had been replaced on every fort and arsenal from 
which it had been improperly, illegally and nefariously torn down.") 

"John Savage, at the desire of Colonel Corcoran, sung the following 
song to the air of ' Dixie's Laud.' It was written by himself, and is enti- 
titled — 



THE STARRY FLAG. 



AIR— DIXIES S LAND. 



1 Oh the starry Flag is the Flag for me ! 
'Tis the Flag cf life! the Flag of the Free, 

Then hurrah! hurrah! 
For the Flag of the Union ! 

Oh, the Srrry Fla^r. &c. 
We'll raise that starry banner, boys, 

Hurrah ! hurrah ! 
We'll raise that starry banner, boys, 
Where no power in wrath can face it! 

On to\s n and field 

The people's shield, 
No treason can erase it! 

O'er all the laud 

That Flag 'must stand, 
Where the people's might shall place it. 



'That Flag was won through gloom and woe! 
It lias blessed the brave and awed the foe ! 
Then hurrah ! hurrah ! 

For the Flag of the Union ! 

That Flag was won, &c. 
We'll raise that starry banner, boys, 
Hurrah! hurrah ! 



3S4 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



We'll raise that starry banner, boys, 
Where the stripes no hand can sever ! 

()n tort and mast 

We'll nail it fast, 
To balk all base endeavor! 

( >'er roof and spire 

A living fire 
The stars shall blaze forever ! 

'Tis the people's will, both great and small, 
The right of the States, the Union of all ! . 

Then hurrah! hurrah! 

For the Flag of the Union ! 
'Tis the People's will, etc. 
We'll raise that starry banner, hoys, 

Hurrah! hurrah! 
We'll raise that starry banner, boys, 
Till it is the world's wonder ! 

( )n fort and crag 

We'll plant that flag 
With the People's voice of thunder ! 

We'll plant that Flag 

Where no hand can drag 
Its immortal folds asunder ! 

' We must keep that Flag where it e'er has stood, 
In front of the free, the wise and the good! 

Then hurrah ! hurrah ! 

For the Flag of the Union ! 

We must keep that Flag, &c. 
We'll raise that starry banner, boys, 
On field, fort, mast aud steeple ! 

And fight and fall 

At our country's call 
By the glorious Flag of the People ! 

In God, the Just, 

We place our trust, 
To defend the Flag of the People ! 

'On board U. S. transport Marion, \ 
Monday, May 13, 1861.' J 

"The enthusiam which this peculiarly stirring song, with its splendid 
refrain chorused by thirteen hundred brave voices aroused, while the Stars 
and Stripes floated proudly from the mast-head in the melting sunset on 
the sweet breeze from the river, cannot be described. It was electrical. 
There stood the author himself by the side of Meagher, both symbols of Irish 
patriotism; there stood those dauntless men, their brothers in arms and 
exile; and there, above all — the stripes vying with the red streaks of the 
west; and its stars with the silver globes that already began to break 
through the sky — waved the banner which had come to them when starving, 
which had protected them when flying, and for whose preservation and per- 



FlBtiT FLAG BAISIKG. 385 



petuation they row maiched to the roll of the national reveille! Well might 
it awaken those grateiul hearts; and no wonder that when the last thun- 
ders of the final verse, roarirg like distant artillery, were rising up like 
vigils around the flag, they broke from their places and surrounded their 
chief, their orator, their prkst and their poet in a general Irish 'hullabaloo," 
as inspiring as a camp meeting. 

" I must say it was very bard, between the comic, grotesque scene now 
presented to the eye, and the earnest heart-felt associations imaged to the 
heart, to refrain from mingled convulsions of laughter and crying." 

Nearly twenty years after I first read the foregoing animated descrip- 
tion of the flag-raising on Fort Corcoran, I had the great pleasure of mak- 
ing the personal acquaintance of the distinguished writer; and, by a hap- 
py coincidence — through the instrumentality of the "poet" of the occasion 
— our mutual friend, John Savage. It was during Mr. Savage's last visit 
to Washington in the summer of 1884. We were in the Capitol together, 
when we, accidentally, met Mr. Watterson, and our introduction followed. 
Mr. Watterson, in turn, introduced both of us to his father — a venerable, 
pleasant old gentleman — then hale and hearty. While we were exchanging 
salutations, we were joined by Mr. Thomas Seton Donoho, an old friend of 
Messrs. Watterson and Savage, but to me, until then only known by repu- 
tation as the " Poet of Ivy wall ! "' and a warm friend of John Mitchell's. 

Mr. Watterson, junior, proposed that we should dine together at the 
House Eestaurant, but his father, — having to fulfil an engagement — excused 
himself and bade us a cheerful "good-bye." 

The few houis that followed were among the pleasantest of my life in 
America; for, though it was my first meeting with two of the party, those 
congenial spirits soon made me feel as if we were all old comrades — there 
were so many things in which we mutually sympathized. In the course of 
conversation I told Mr. Watterson that "Asa Trenchard's " description of 
the " Fiag-raisirg on Fort Corcoran" first led to my knowledge of what an 
appieciative and sympathizing friend Ireland had in him, when he, laugh- 
ingly told me tjiat some of his, whilome, Southern friends, seemed to be 
exceedingly exasperated by these articles; tbat they accused him of being 
little Letter than a "Black Eepublican" at heart, and broadly intimated 
that "lynching" was about just what he merited. 

"But," he added, turning to Savage, "do you know, Mike, that 'tis 
this fellow, — your friend 'Jack,' here — was responsible for it all — for 'tis 
he who first made me a 'Young Irelander!'" 



386 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANC1S MEAGHER. 

_ 
I then proceeded to give them the following account of a visit I had 
made to Fort Corcoran, five years after the termination of the wai, and of 
the gloomy contrast it then presented to that which " Asa Trenchard's " vivid 
description had indelibly impressed on my memory. 

Reminiscences of Fort Corcoran. 

When I visited Fort Corcoran, for the first tttne, in September, 1S70, 
the place presented a melancholy contrast to what it did on the day the 
"Stars and Stripes" were first hoisted above it. The fort had been aban- 
doned by the government some short time previously — the guns and plat- 
forms removed, the flag-staff cut down, and the stockade, which originally 
defended the side facing the river had also disappeared; even the heavy 
logs which supported the roof of the " magazine" had been partially dis- 
placed — (the door was gone altogether) — I presume to supply-tirewood to 
the dwelling which, with its garden, occupied a portion of the enclosed 
ground. The huge ramparts, however, appeared as if they were destined 
to last for centuries, — perpetuating the memory of the brave builders and 
their heroic commander : — 

"The proofs of Irish loyalty — 
The work of Irish hands." 

The space enclosed within the limits of the fort contained between six and 
seven acres, including the house and garden — which overlooked the river 
and the city beyond it. The angles of the work faced the cardinal 
points. The south-west, or main face of the fort, overlooked a level field 
nearly half a mile long, flanked at the left side by the road leading to- 
wards Fairfax Court House, and on the right by a wooded ravine through 
which ran a small rivulet. This ravine approached to within a few yards 
of the north-western angle of the works, and, at the time of my visit, was 
covered with a thick growth of scrubby bushes — shoots from the stumps 
of the trees that had been cut down when the fort was erected — so as to 
afford no cover to foes approaching through the ravine. 

I had some general idea of the main situation of the fort and its sur- 
roundings, derived from information given me by some of those by whom 
the works w^ere erected, and as I slowly paced round the parapet and 
recalled many of the incidents I had heard from the lips of those dear 
friends, (now, alas! silent for ever,) I imagined I cc aid locate the exact 
spots where they transpired. I felt certain of the positi n — outside the works 
— occupied by Company A, — " Haygerty's Bullies!-' 1 (as they were called — 



REMIXISCENCES OF FORT COB COR AN. 3*7 

after their gallant Captain). It was between the north-west bastion and 
the ravine, and I pictured to myself the scene of that midnight alarm on 
the 2d of June, '61, when the bugles of the Fifth, Twenty-eighth and Six- 
ty-ninth New York Regiments sounded the '•officers' call," and the drums 
beat to arms. I imagined I saw the regiment swarming from the tents 
and hastening to man the ramparts, their gallant Colonel coolly directing 
their movements, John O'Mahony — his volunteer Aid — mounted by his side, 
Judge Daly and Richard 0*Gorman on the ramparts with the men, revolvers 
in hand, ready to take a share in whatever turned up; while John Sav- 
age — most practical of poets, wisely choose a more efi'eetive weapon — the 
old-fashioned 69-calibre musket — whose load of ball-and-buckshot was likely 
to do most execution in the dark. I could, in fancy, hear Captain Haggerty'a 
familiar voice giving the command — "Double quick!" as with half his com- 
pany he diappeared in the darkness out by the Fairfax Court House road — 
in which direction was heard! the firing that caused all this commotion. 
They soon returned with the information that the alarm was caused by the 
rebel pickets firing on the outposts of the Twenty-eighth New York — who 
promptly returned the fire. 

While musing over these reminiscences of the loved and lost, with a 
sadness of heart in keeping with the dreariness of the leaden-hued skies, — 
the mournful sigh of the evening wind through the neighboring thicket, 
and the tall, rank weeds that fringed the ramparts, I came upon an object 
that changed the current of my thoughts, and drew forth an involuntary, 
but most emphatic exclamation! There, at my feet, in one of the embra- 
sures through which a formidable " sixty-eight-pounder " erewhile scowled 
defiance at the rebel foe — lay a "figure-of-four trap'''' to catch rabbits. My 
first impulse was to fling the thing into the ditch, with an imprecation on 
the pot-hunting scoundrel who selected that hero-haunted spot as the scene 
of his tricky operations. But when I reflected that the irreverent offender 
must be either an " ignorant Nigger," or, more unconscionable still, a *'boy,' 
I merely turned ,away in disgust. 

I hastened to where the flag-staff once stood, and secured a few of its chips 
from the vicinity of the stump — together with a rusty spike-nail used in 
fastening the halliard-cleat, which I still have as mementoes; then, after 
getting a drink of water from the "well" dug by the boys of the Sixty- 
ninth, I came sadly away, wishing that, at least, the old flag-stall" might 



388 MEMOIBS OF GEN. THOMAS FEANCIS MEAGHER. 

be left to keep its place where brave men planted it, until it succumbed 
to the influence of Time.* 



CHAPTER LXI. 



THE BULL-RUN CAMPAIGN. 

He peeks not safety, let his post 

Be where it ought — in danger'*, van; 
And if the fiell of fame be lost, 

It won't he by an Irishman. 

JAMLS OKR. 

For about sis weeks after the completion of Fort Corcoran the Sixty- 
ninth remained in occupation, drilling assiduously by day, and ke^pt constantly 
on the alert watching their wiiy and daring foe, by night, in addition to 
their own officers, ten West-Point cadets were assigned to them as military 
instructors, and the men were, in some measure, enabled to make up for 
the time spent in the trenches. During this interval, also, several of the 
more intelligent officers of tin Pbcenix Brigade — who had gone out with 
the Sixty-ninth as " privates" — were promoted to their proper position as 
commissioned officers, — some of them subsequently rose to the rank of 
General. 

In the beginning of July Archbishop Hughes, accompanied by Bishop 
Timon of Buffalo, visited the camp, and was most enthusiastically received 
by the regiment. Well might they honor him, both as a venerable digni- 
tary of their church and as a patriot, whose services to the Union cause 
were unsurpassed by those of any other of his fellow-citizens — clerical or 



* In a recent visit to the site of Foit Corcoran I found not a vestige of the entrench- 
ments—they were levelled and the ditch filled. Onlv the "well," and the excavation which 
marked the site of the "magazine," remain. 



THE BULL HUN CAMPAIGN. 3S9 

lay. The week after the Archbishop's departure, Father Mooney, the Chap- 
lain of the regiment, also returned to New York. But his place was at 
once filled by the Rev. Father O'lteilly, the eminent Jesuit — who has since 
obtained well-deserved celebrity as a wiiter and champion of Irish liberty. 

Other changes occurred at this time among the field and staff offi- 
cers of the regiment. Lieutenant-Colonel Nugent was disabled by an acci- 
dental fall from his horse, and Captain James Haggerty of Company U A" 
took his place, and held it until he fell gloriously at the head of the regi- 
ment in the advance on Bull Run, just one month later. Major James 
Bagley being also absent in New York at this time, Captain Thomas F. 
Meagher acted as Major up to and after the battle of Bull Bun, and in 
that capacity commanded the regiment on its return to Fort Corcoran. 

On the evening of the 15th of July, — the Sixty-ninth being drawn up 
in close column on parade, — Colonel Corcoran read the special order for 
the march into Virginia on next. day. 

Traitors and Spies in Washington. 

Washington, at that time, harbored many bitter enemies to the Union. 
They permeated all ranks and classes of society, and some of them must 
have been amongst the most trusted officials of the Government. Owing to 
the treachery of those concealed traitors the Confederate leaders were kept 
regularly informed of the plans and purposes of the Government, as will 
be seen from the following statement of General Beauregard, commander of 
the Confederate forces at Bull Bun, — taken from his account of that battle 
in the Century. 

''Happily, through the foresight of Colonel Thomas Jordan, — whom 
General Lee had placed as the Adjutant-General of the forces there assembled 
before my arrival — arrangements were made which enabled me to receive 
regularly, from private persons at the Federal capital, most accurate infor- 
mation, of which politicians high in council, as well as War Department 
clerks, were the unconscious (?) aucts. Moreover, my enterprising, intelli- 
gent pickets were watchfully kept in the closest proximity to General 
McDowell's headquarters, and, by a stroke of good fortune on the fourth of 
July, happened upon and captured .a sergeant and soldier of the regulars, 
who were leisurely riding for recreation not far outside their lines. The 
soldier, an intelligent, ec ucat d Scotchman, proved to be a clerk in the 
Adjutant-General's office of General McDowell, intrusted with the special duty 
ol compiling returns of his army — a work which he confessed, without 



390 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

reluctance, he had just executed, showing the forces under McDowell about 
the first of July. His statement of the composition and strength of that 
force tallied so closely with that which had been acquired through my 
Washington agencies, already mentioned, as well as through the leading 
newspapers of Xevv York and Washington, Philadelphia and Baltimore, 
regular files of which were also transmitted to my headquarters from the 
Federal capital, that I could not doubt them." 

Coming from such an authoritative source, these statements are interesting ev- 
idences of the general prevalence of treason in the capital at the period referred 
to, but further on in his revelations, General Beauregard gives a specific 
instance of treachery in high quarters — which, in the blackness of its crim- 
inality as well as in the importance of its consequences, — overshadowed the 
petty treason of eaves-dropping Department clerks and mercenary deserters. 

"Just before Colonel Chesnut was dispatched on the mission of which 
I have spoken, a former clerk in one of the departments at Washington, 
well known to him, had volunteered to return thither and bring back the 
latest information, from our most trusted friends, of the military and polit- 
ical situations. His loyaly, intelligence, and desire to be of service beiug 
vouched for, and as I was extremely solicitous to hear the personal obser- 
vations of so intelligent a gentleman as he was represented to be, he was 
at once sent across the Potomac below Alexandria by our agencies in that 
quarter, merely accredi'ed by a small scrap of paper bearing in Colonel 
Jordan's cipher the two words, ' Trust bearer,' with which he was to call 
at a certain house in a certain street in Washington within easy rifle-range 
of the White House, ask for the lady of the house, and present it only to 
her. 

"This delicate mission was as fortunately as it was deftly executed. 

" In the early morning, as the newsbovs were crying in the as yet 
empty streets of Washington, the intelligence that the order was given 
for the Federal army to move at once upon my position, (?) that scrap of 
paper, apparently so unmeaning, reached the hands of the one person in 
all that city who could extract any meaning from it. With no more delay 
than was necessary for a hurried breakfast, and the writing in cipher by 
Mrs. G of the words, l OrJer issued for McDowell to march upon Man- 
assas to-night," my agent was placed in communication with another friend, 
who carried him in a buggy with a relay of horses as swiftly as possible 
down the eastern shore of the Potomac to our regular ferry across that 
river. 

" Without untoward incident the momentous dispatch was quickly deliv- 



THE BULL BUN CAMBAIGN. 391 

ev< (1 into the hands of a cavalry courier, and by means of relays, it was in 
my hands between eight and nine o'clock that night. Within half an hour 
my outpost commanders, advised of what was impending, were directed, at 
the first evidence of the near presence of the enemy in their front, to fall 
back in the mauer, and to positions already prescribed in anticipation of 
such a contingency, in an order confidentially communicated to them four 
weeks before, and the detachment at Leesburg was directed to join me by 
forced marches."'* 

Who was this "Mrs. G ," the confidential spy of the Confederates, 

and who was the official in high quarters who gave her the important infor- 
mation which resulted so disastrously to the Union army? — are questions 
that are still unanswered. 

TnE Sixty-ninth in Advance. 

The most graphic and interesting account of the experiences of the 
Sixty-ninth after leaving Fort Corcoran, is that furnished by Thomas Fran- 
cis Meagher, in his narrative entitled "The Last Days of the 69th in 
Virginia," from which the following extracts are selected : — 

"Advance on Fairfax Court House. — First Sight of the Enemy. 

"It was fully 10 o'clock, on the morning of the 17th of July, when 
the G9th came in sight of Fairfax Court House, the road along which the 
regiment passed being obstructed, every half mile almost, with enormous 
heaps of fallen trees, which the Confederates had levelled and massed toge- 
ther, and which had to be cut through by our axe-men, before the slightest 
progress could be made. In this rough and dangerous pioneering, the Engi- 
neers of the 69th, under the command of their high-spirited young Captain, 
did quick and clear work, splendidly maintaining their character with the 
regiment for usefulness, promptitude and boldness. 

"Arriving in sight of Fairfax Court House, and within easy cannon-shot 
of it, the 69th, leaving the Ohio and other regiments drawn up in line of 
battle along the road, striking off at right-angles to the left of the main line 
of march, passed on so as to flank the village and cut off the retreat of 
the Coufedeiates. 

"Proceeding in the execution of this movement, we came in sight of 



1 The Battle of Cull Run, by General Beauregard-" The Century, November, 1S84 



392 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

a portion of the enemy, apparently from one thousand to one thousand five 
hundred strong, drawn up in line of battle outside the village in a field, 
directly fronting our line of march. The order to halt was promptly given, 
the right wing of the 69th was thrown into the fields to the left, and unit- 
ing there with the 2d New York — as vigorous and spirited a body of men 
as any one would wish to see — moved rapidly down upon the enemy. 

" As they neared him, however, he retreated into the village, and then 
out of it towards Centreville, leaving it to be peacefully entered, a short 
time after, by the forces from Arlington Heights, and the encampments 
between that and Alexandria and beyond it." 

In Germantown. — An Act of Vandalism in British Style. 

"At 12 o'clock the Green Fiag was planted upon the deserted ramparts 
of the Confederates at Germantown; the Stars and Stripes were lifted oppo- 
site to it, at a distance of fifteen paces, and between the two beautiful and 
inspiring symbols — the one of their old home and the other of their new 
country — the G9th passed iu triumph, hats and caps waving on the bayonet 
points, and an Irish cheer, such as never before shook the woods of old 
Virginia, swelling and rolling far and wide into the gleaming air. 

"Defiling through the deserted earth-works at Germantown, our Brigade 
bore off to the left, taking position in line of battle in the open fields 
spreading northward from the village. Skirmishers were thrown forward, 
and the village also being found deserted, the march was renewed, the posi- 
tion of the regiments being altered — the First Wisconsin taking the right, 
and the 69th bringing up the rear of the Brigade. 

'• Over the streaming bayonets, through the swaying colors and the 
clouds of dust rolliug densely upwards from the trampled earth, riding at 
the head of the 69: h beside our Colonel, I saw the handful of little wooden 
houses, known as Germantown, rise up and dilate before us. One house, 
however, particularly struck me, even at that distance, and notwithstanding 
the dust, confusion and tumult through which I noticed it, — a two-storied 
house, well proportioned, — with a white, cheerful face; rotes and wood- 
bine, as I took them to be. coiling and clustering about the trellissed porch; 
young ornamental trees in front of it; a clear and handsome feature in the 
clouded picture against which we were moving — it was the first pleasant 
object, of the quieter and friendlier order of things, we had fallen in with 
since we pushed on that morning from Vienna. 

" ' That house is on Jire, J Father 0*Beilly, the Chaplain, hurriedly observed, 
as he whipped his horse up beside the Colonei. 



THE BULL li UN CAMPAIGN. 393 

"The words had scarcely fallen from his lips when a round mass of 
black smoke rolled out of the windows of the house and buried it in dark- 
ness. In another moment, the red flames were leaping through the smoke, 
and the crackling of timbers, pierced and rifted with the fire, was heard 
distinctly above the tramp and tumult of the march. The only ornament 
of the village, in hot haste and fury, was plunging into ashes. In half an, 
hour it would be, at best, a heap of smouldering charcoal. 

"Whose was the scurvy and malignant hand that fired the deserted 
homestead? It is for the regiments of the Brigade, in advance of the G9th 
to answer. With them rests the responsibility of this savage riotousness 
and mischief. The house was doomed irrevocably when the 69th came up. 
The Irish regiment swept by the blazing ruin, cursing the ruffians who had 
played the barbarous prank, and maddened with the thought of the disgrace 
it would bring on the Federal Flag." 

Under Fire. 

"A shout, hearty and prolonged, soon told us that Centreville, also, 
had been evacuated. The huts, cresting the rising ground on the left, were 
stripped to the very leaves and branches of which they had been built. 
The redoubt between the house and the road was emptied too, nothing fall- 
ing into the possession of the Federal troops but a few ammunition 
boxes. It was a clean sweep the Confederates made, as they fell back, 
abandoning position after position, until they fiercely stood their ground in 
that fatal labyrinth, bristling, four miles ahead, between us and Manassas. 
It was there they wanted us; and their abandoned positions at Vienna, at 
Fairfax, at Germantown, at Centreville— wherever they had been grouped 
between Bull Run and Falls Church, up to the evening of our advance, — 
were but so many artifices, elaborately arranged along our line of march, 
to entice us headlong, breathless and breadless almost, to destruction. 

"At noon on the 18th of July, the Stars and Stripes were flying over 
Centreville. The regiments under Colonel Keyes, accompanied by Brigadier- 
General Tyler, moved down the southern slope of the hill already mentioned, 
and disappeared. Sherman's Brigade broke into the fields to the right of 
where we halted on the road — arms were stacked — haversacks and can- 
teens were brought iuto play — and the sore-footed volunteers, their blan- 
kets spread above them on •rails and muskets, so a? to shade them some- 
what, enjoyed a lunch of biscuit and hot water, and four hours' repose. 

"Little they seemed to heed the cannon which, at long iutervals, — 



3U MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

intervals of from tea to twenty minutes — when it first begau to boom, off 
there in the hazy woods below, — told tham that the enemy was found at 
last. One might have thought that every man of the 69ch had been a har- 
dened and callous veteran, so coolly, so indifferently, so lazily did they 
take those dread intimations that death had commenced his havoc amid the 
lightnings, and with all the pomp of war. 

'•The fact is — what with constant alarms at Fort Corcoran, forced 
marches and precipitate expeditious two or three times a week — being under 
arms upon the ramparts every second night or so, lying in ambuscade at the 
Alexandria and Loudon railway from midnight until dawn, and undergoing 
all the hardships, - violences, and most of the shocks of war, the men of 
the 69th had become familiarized by anticipation and analogy with the scene 
which, at that moment, was being played out with such terrible effect amid 
the beautiful green trees of Virginia, and on one of the oldest high-roads 
to her capital. Hence the strange coolness with which they heard those bel- 
lowings of the conflict, awaiting the summons that would fling them into 
its fierce currents, and whirl their banner into the blackest and wildest 
eddies of the storm. 

'•At four o'clock in the afternoon that summons came. Sherman's Brigade 
was ordered up to relieve the regiments that had been uudei. fire for five 
hours and more. The 69th led the way, and, as they hurried up the hill, 
the elasticity and enthusiasm of their race seemed to pervade them triors 
oughly. Of those thousand men, sweeping on to battle, through choking 
clouds of dust, and under that smiting sun, there was not one but carried 
himself right gallantly — not one who did not feel that the honor of his 
race and of its military character was staked that hour upon the conduct 
of the 69th; and who. feeling this, and lifting his eye in rapture to the 
Green Flag as it danced above the rushing column, did not swear to meet 
the thrusts of battle with a fearless heart. 

"An hour's rushing — for the marching of the 69th to Bull Run that 
evening cannot otherwise be described— brought the regiment to the brow 
of the hill descending into the little meadow, where the Federal troops, 
regiment after regiment, had faced and stood a tempestous fire from batte- 
ries of rifled cannon — masked as well as naked batteries — the fire of rifle- 
pits — a downright torrent and whirlwind of balls and shot, all of the 
deadliest cunning and ripest pattern. 

"And here they encountered several of the 12th Regiment of New York 
Volunteers hurrying from the bloody arena in the woods below, some of 



THE HOLL BUN CAMPAIGN. 395 

them dragging dead or bleeding comrades along with them, others with 
bandaged heads or legs or arms, staggering through the dust and the venge- 
ful storm from the rifled cannon which still pursued them. Here, too, they 
met the 13th of Rochester on its retreat, this fine young regiment having 
•stood its ground until broken and overpowered. 

" Seeing a body of men making through the woods from where the 
murderous hail was pouring in upon them thick and sharp and fast, and 
taking them to be the Southerners in pursuit of the 12th New York, the 
boys of the G9th instinctively brought their bayonets to the charge, and 
were on the point of plunging upon the 13th, when Captain Haggerty dashed 
along the line ar.d struck the bayonets upwards with his sword. It was 
the bold act of a cool, strong, decisive brain, and in an instant it stayed 
the G9th with an iron hand, as it were, and held it in a masterly suspense. 

" The next moment we were ordered to lie down in double file, in the 
wood overlooking the field of battle, with our faces and muskets to the 
road, and in that position, keeping perfectly silent and collected, to await 
further orders. For more than three quarters of an hour did the regiment 
keep its position there — without a word from the ranks — without a breath 
almost — whilst shot and shell, and every sort of hellish missile, swept and 
tore, whizzed and jarred, smashed and plunged through the trees all about, 
and close to us overhead, in hurtling and deafening showers on either flank, 
in front and rear. 

"While we lay under that torrent and hurricane of round shot, spher- 
ical ball, shell and canister, whilst we patiently submitted to this butcherly 
rain, Captain Haggerty stood upon our extreme right, contemplating with 
undisguised satisfaction, the perfect coolness and subordination of the men, 
the Colonel taking it just as coolly in the centre as though he had been 
dictating some unimportant order in his marquee at Fort Corcoran, with a 
pitcher of ice-water close at hand. 

" Between six and seven o'clock, General McDowell came upon the ground 
with a brilliant escort, including the young Governor Spiague of Rhode 
Island, and he, comprthending at a glance the situation of affairs, the sheer 
deadliness of the conflict, and the utter fatuity of attacking the hidden 
enemy in his lair, ordeied thp 69ch to return to the hill overlooking the 
little village of Centreville, and there await further orders, which would 
be forthwith issued." 

(Owing to the lack of rations, and the necessity for information. General 
McDowell was detained at Centrtsville lor the next two days, spending the 



3S6 MEMOIBS OF GEX. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

time in reconnoissances. This delay was of considerable advantage to his 
opponent, for, meanwhile General Johnson joined him with six thousand 
men and twenty guns from the Shenancoah Valley, and General Holmes 
with one thousand three hundred men and sis guns from Acquia Creek). 

Meagher's Narrative Continued. — How Irish Soldiers Prepared 
for Battle. 

"Were it not for the visit of Father Scully, the young and devoted 
Chaplain of Colonel Cass*s Irish Regiment, from Boston, who, having heard 
of Thursday's fighting, dashed across from Washington, over five-and-thirty 
miles, to see and learn all about us, Saturday, despite of the glaring sun- 
shine, would have been a gloomy day indeed. His hearty words and pres- 
ence lit up afresh the life and fire of the 69th; and he came in good time, 
and most kindly staid long enough to relieve our own beloved Chaplain, Father 
O'Reilly at the confessional. There were few of the G9th who failed to con- 
fess and ask forgiveness on that day. Every one, officers as well as pri- 
vates, prepared for death. Sincerely and devoutly they made their peace 
with God. This is the secret of their courage, and the high, bright spirit 
with which they bore all the hardships, the privations, the terrors, and the 
chastisement of the battle. 

"It was. in truth, an affecting sight — that of strong, stalwart, rugged 
men — all upon their knees, all with heads uncovered, all with hands clasped 
in prayer and eyes cast down, approaching, one by one. the good, dear 
priest, who, seated at the foot of an old bare tree, against which some of 
our boys h;.d spread for him an awning of green branches, heard the con- 
fessions of the poor fellows, and bid them be at ease and fearless. Long 
as I live, I shall never forget that scene. It was not less impressive than 
that of Father O'Reilly's passing along our line, as we knelt within range 
of the enemy's batteries on one knee, with bayonets fixed, expecting every 
instant to be swept upon, and the final benediction was imparted. 

"Father O'Reilly has told me since, that the earnestness and devotion 
with which poor Haggerty received that benediction, singularly struck him, 
and that the attitude and expression of this truly honest and heroic soldier, 
at that solemn moment could never leave his memory." 

Meagher concludes his narrative with the following observations on the 
battle of Bull Run, and the subsequent retreat of the 09th to Fort Cor- 
coran : — 



THE BULL BUN CAMPAIGN. 



"Of subsequent incidents and events, the world, by this time, has heard 
enough. Concerning the advance from Centreville, the battle, the retreat, 
the alarm and confusion of the Federal troops, columns and volumes have 
been filled. I can add nothing to the history of the day but my testimony, 
that wherever the Federal troops had a fair chance — wherever, indeed, they 
had the slightest opening even — there and then they whipped the Confed- 
erate forces, utterly overwhelmed and confounded them. In every instance 
where the Federal infantry came in contact with that of the seceding States, 
did this occur. In no one instance, not for a second, did it happen that 
the Federal forces were driven back by, or received the slightest check 
from s the Southern Infantry. We yielded to their batteries, and despite oi 
every effort and determination were compelled to do so. It was impossible 
for men to override that tempest. Three times did the 69th launch itself 
aaaiust it. Three times, having plunged head-foremost into its deadliest 
showers, was it hurled back. We beat their men — their batteries beat us. 
That is the story of the day. 

" Repulsed the last time from the enemy's works, following the regi- 
ment as it was fiercely driven out, I was knocked head over heels, and 
fell senseless on the field. A private of the United States Cavalry, gallop- 
ing by, grasped me by the back of the neck, jerked me across his saddle, 
and carried me a few hundred yards beyond the range of the batteries." 

[Note. — In reference to the gallant soldier who rescued Meagher from 
his perilous position on the ahove occasion, the annexed interesting letter 
was written at the time. It is fitting that his fame should be commemo- 
rated in cqrnection with that of the hero whose life he saved, and on whose 
staff he subsequently served in the Irish Brigade. I am happy to state that 
Captain McCoy is still living in Washington, — where he holds an important 
clerical position in the Adjutant-General's office. 

" Washington, D. C, Aug. 20th, 1SG1. 
'' To the Editor of the Irish-American: 

"The young hero who so daringly rescued Capt. Thomas F. Meagher, 
in the very face of the enemy, at the battle of Bull Ptun, was Joseph P. 
McCoy, of Co. " B," 2d U. S. Cavalry, (formerly a student of St. Francis 
Xavier's College, in your city). It is, therefore, needless to remark that he 
is as accomplished as brave. ***** From this brave young man I have 
elicited the following circumstances connected therewith, i. e., that after 
the heroic G9th (as he styled them,) were repulsed for the third and last 
time, the cavalry were ordered to move towards the road leading to Cen- 



398 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

treville, in order to hurry on the stragglers, and, on the heights above the 
Stone Bridge, to make a stand with Ayres' Battery, and the 2d U. S. In- 
fantry to cover the retreat. The moment the order was given, it was put 
in execution. It seems, however, that instantaneously with the word of 
command, McCoy saw Capt. Meagher on the ground, within a couple hun- 
dred yards of the enemy's batteries. One look was sufficient — to break 
from his companions was but the work of an instant. He would rescue 
the gallant Captain, or perish in the attempt. It is needless to remark how 
ably it was done. * * One incident only remains to be added to show the 
real worth of the young hero. He informed me privately that he had not 
eaten a morsel since 2 o'clock that morning (the time of the* retreat being 
ibout 5 p. M.,) save a piece of cracker and a little water, and that for three 
days his horse had had but one substantial meal (six ears of corn) ; that 
he himself was so weak, that he expected every moment to be precipitated 
from the saddle by the weight of Capt. Meagher, whose exhaustion was so 
great that he was barely able to retain his hold on his young ally. Over 
hills and ravines McCoy rode with his charge, util he reached a place of 
safety, and joined his company ; when tenderly assisting him to dismount, he 
coupled the action with the words, ; Captain, were I a Volunteer, thie horse should 
be yours, but being a Regular, it is, I regret, impossible.'' [These words I 
have from several members of his Company, who all knew and instantly 
recognized Thomas F. Meagher.] Justice to the young hero, as well as the 
champion of '48, compels me to disclose to the public what was given to me 
alone as a mere anecdote of the war. 

" I am very respectfully yours, 

" Chas. H. NORBUr.Y."] 

" When I got upon my feet. I found myself in a group of Fire Zouaves 
and a number of the 8th and 71st, Xew York, who very quietly, without 
the least flurry or trepidation, were retracing their steps to the camping 
ground at Centreville. I walked with them until an artillery wagon came 
up, when, from that out, until we came to the stream which crosses the road 
between Centreville and the field of battle — half-way between these two 
points — I had as hard a jolting as any one could well endure. Here I was 
pitched into the water, one of the horses of the wagon being shot by the 
Black Horse Cavalry which dashed upon us from the woods on our left, and 
the wagon tumbling over. Here, too, it was that the panic took place. 
Up to this point, there was no fright, no alarm, no confusion, not the 
least apparent uneasiness. 

" These fragments of regiments were coolly and steadily returning to 



THE B ULL R UN CAMPAIGN. 399 

the fields from which they had set out — as coolly and ui, concernedly as 
though they were strolling along the Bloomingdale road of a Sunday even- 
ing in the Fall — when, all of a sudden, down came Commissariat wagons, 
ambulances, hospital carts, artillery forges, and every description of vehicle, 
dashing and smashing each other, and with one fearful wreck blocking up 
the river. 

" A few yards off, there were two or three hundred of the Black Horse 
sweeping into us with their carbines. But for a couple of guns of Ayres' 
battery, which, dashing up from the crowd, were thrown with the quick- 
ness of lightning into position, and which flung on the enemy a torrent of 
cannister, there would, I believe, have been a terrible havoc wrought at 
that bridge and ford. As it was, the only disgraceful episode of the battle 
was written there. 

"Struggling through the river, however, I fell in again with the throng 
of retreating soldiers, and soon after reached the field where we bad 
encamped the three previous nights. Here I found Dr. Smith and about 
fllty of the 69th. Learning that three or four hundred of the regiment 
were on the road to Fairfax, I hurried after them to ascertain their inten- 
tions, Dr. Smith having insisted on my taking his horse for the purpose. 
They were bound for Fort Corcoran — the Colonel, wounded and exhausted, 
had passed ahead in an ambulance* — Colonel Sherman had told them so — 
and wherever the Colonel of the 69th was, there the 69th should be. 

"At 3 o'clock on the morning of the 22 1 of Julv, weary and worn, 
famished and naked almost, the 69th passed through .the familiar gates of 
their old quarters, ana after a battle which had lasted for eight hours and 
more, and a march of five and thirty miles, laid themselves down to sleep." 

With the modesty characteristic of the truly brave, Meagher is silent as 
to his own share of the credit accorded by friend and foe to his gallant 
regiment for their conduct at Bull Run.f His brother officers, however, 



*This was a mistake; Colonel Corcoran was then a prisoner. 

t The Memphis Argus, in commenting on the battle, said: — 

'• No southerner but feels that the Sixty-ninth maintained the old reputation of Irish 
valor, — on the wrong side through misguidance, not through tieachery to the old cause; 
and not one of us but feels that the. day must come when a true understanding of the 
principles at issue will raige thtir fearless hearts in line with their bretnren of the 
South," 

On the Union side, President Lincoln and the veteran, General Winfleld Scutt, bestowed 
the highest encomiums on them; aLd Ju ige Holt, of Kentucky, iu an address which he 



400 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

were not so reticent in his regard. They have placed upon record their 
testimony as to his services on that eventful day, in the aunexed card — 
which they published to confute sonip equivocal inuendoes concerning him, 
made by that malignant traducer of his race — Russell — the notorious cor- 
respondent of the London Times : — 

"Allusions to Capt. Thomas Francis Meagher, in one or two of the 
more recent letters of Mr. Eussell to the London Times, seeming to imply 
that at and immediately after the battle Of Bull Buu he was wanting in his 
duty, and did not exhibit the steadiness and bravery for which the Amer- 
ican public have giveu him credit, we, the undersigned, officers of the Sixty- 
ninth, present at the battle of Bull Bun. consider it due to Captain Meagher 
emphatically to state that no officer or soldier could have borne himself more 
gallantly, nor with more perfect coolness and intrepidity, than he did all 
through the labors and terrors of that battle. 

" Acting as Major of the regiment, and special aid to Colonel Corcoran, 
his exertions were incessant throughout the day — now delivering orders — 
another time encouraging the men — hastening up stragglers on the march 
— keeping the men compact and silent in the ranks — doing everything an 
officer could do to excite the ardor and insure the efficiency of the regi- 
ment. Biding coolly and deliberately along the line, in front of the enemy's 
batteries, from which a tempest of ball and shell swept the field, whilst in 
the act of delivering the Colonel's order to prepare to charge, Captain 
Meagher's horse was torn to pieces by a cannon shot. From that out he 
took his place with his company of Zouaves on foot, advanced upon the 
enemy's batteries, cheered and inspired the men as they rushed upon the 
works, and in the face of the deadliest fire, with his head uncovered, stood 
his ground, waved his sword, rallied the Sixty-ninth in the name of Ire- 
land, when the regiment was twice repulsed, and was among the last, if 
he himself was not the very last, to leave the fatal spot where so many 
of his honest-hearted countrymen were slain. 

" In the confusion which followed the final repulse from the batteries, 
and in the smoke and uproar of the batteries, we lost sight of Captain 
Meagher, and he of us. 



delivered to the Kentucky Volunteers, held them up as a bright example in the follow 
ing words: — 

" Leonldas himself, while suiveyln? the Persian host that, like a troubled sea, swept 
onwari to the pass where he fctool, wuul I have been proud of the leadership of sueh 



THE BULL RUX CAMPAIGN. 



"We did not see him again until lie came up, a mile or so beyond 
the village of Centreville, to the main body of the regiment, which, in good 
order, was on its return to Fort Corcoran, it having been reported to the 
officers by Brigadier Sherman that Colonel Corcoran had gone on there in 
an ambulance, being badly wounded. Yielding to the unanimous request of 
both officers and men. Captain Meagher took command of the regiment at 
this juncture, and brought it back steadily to Fort Corcoran, where it 
arrived a little after three o'clock the morning after the battle, after an 
uninterrupted march of thirty miles. 

"In conclusion, we take the heartiest satisfaction in bearing witness — 
once for all, against all insinuations or assertions to the contrary, and from 
whatever source they come — to the exemplary and chivalrous conduct of 
Captain Thomas Francis Meagher upon every occasion since he attached 
himself to the Sixty-ninth. In the camp no officer was more diligent, active 
and indefatigable in the discharge of his duties; on the march no one was 
more eager in battle: none more reckless of his life. 



James Kelly, 
James Cavanagh, 
Patrick Kelly, 
Thomas Clarke, 
John Breslin, 
Wm. Butler, . 
John Coonan, 
Thi;odore Kelly, 
Wm. M. Giles, 
Ed. K. Butler, 
James Quinlan, 
Daniel Strain, 
D. L. Sullivan, 
Thomas Liddy, 
Laurence Cahill, 
James Smith, . 
Jasper M. Whitti 
Bichard Dalton, 
Michael OBoyle, 
Wm. S. McMams, 
Patrick Duffy, 
John A. Xugent, 
Henry J. McMahon, 

26 



Captain company H. 
Captain company C. 
Captain company E. 
Captain company D. 
Captain company F. 
Lieutenant company I. 
Lieutenant company I. 
Lieutenant company A. 
Lieutenant company B. 
Lieutenant company K. 
Captain Engineers. 
Lieutenant company A. 
Lieutenant company A. 
Lieuteuaut company B. 
Lieutenant company B. 
Lieutenant company C. 
Lieutenant company C. 
Lieutenant company D. 
Lieutenant company D. 
Lieutenant compauy E. 
Lieutenant company F. 
Lieutenant compauy F. 
Lieutenant company G. 



402 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



Matthew Murphy, 
James Lowey, 
Francis Whelpy, 
Thos. M. Canton, 
Wm. Fogarty, 
Maurice W. Wall, 



Lieutenant company G. 

Lieutenant company II. 

Lieutenant, company II. 

Lieutenant company I. 

Lieutenant company I. 

Lieutenant company K. 



Capture of Colonel Corcoran. 

For some days after the return of the 69th from Manassas, the most 
intense anxiety regarding the fate of its gallapt colonel was manifested by 
his friends throughout the North. The first reliable information as to what 
had become of him after the regiment had recrossed Bull Eun on the retreat, 
was conveyed in the following letter from himself to his friend, Captain 
Kirker: — 

"Richmond, Va., July 24th, 1SG1. 
"Captaix James B. Kirker. 

11 My Deaf Captain: — I know you will regret to hear of me being 
here a prisoner of war. The circumstances connected with the affair 
are easily told. My regiment was twice engaged during that hard-con- 
tested fight on the 21st inst., and left the field with the thanks of Gen. 
McDowell for their services. I brought them off in admirable order, having 
formed a square, to defend against the cavalry, who were advancing. I 
moved in the square until reaching a wood, when, having to pass through 
a defile, and over very broken ground, I had to march by a flank until I 
reached the road, where we got mixed up with two other regiments who 
were retreating in disorder. I soon ordered k halt to correct our line, and 
scarcely had the command been giver, when the cavalry of the enemy 
were seen advancing, and immediately the other regiments went over the 
ra.. -fence into the field, and mine with them. I dismounted (my horse being 
wounded.) and, following into the field, took the colors and called out to 
rally around it. My voice was drowned amid the roar of our artillery and 
the discharge of the cavalry carbines, consequently only two officers, Capt. 
Mclvor and Lieut. Connelly, with nine privates, were all I had. This delay 
caused our arrest. The cavalry surrounded us at a small house which I was 
about to use as a means of defence, and made prisoners of my gallant 
little band. Many others were made prisoners in the same field and imme- 
diate vicinity, who had fallen down from exhaustion, making a total of 
prisoners from the Sixty-ninth of thirty-s-even, who are all here, and a list 



THE BULL RUN CAMPAIGN 4U3 

of whom I send you, that a ou may publish it for the information of their 
friends. 

"We lost many a brave and manly spirit on that day, which fills me 
with the deepest sorrow. My beloved acting Lieutenant-Colonel Haggerty 
was the first who fell. Captain Meagher, who acted as Major, I have not 
seen since the fight, nor any person who could give me any information. 
My imprisonment is deeply embittered from the want of knowledge of the 
fate of my beloved soldiers since my last sight of them. 

'• There are about forty officers here, amongst whom are Capts. Manson 
and Fairish, Lieuts. Irwin, John White, Ives and Campbell, of the 79th; Lieut. 
Gordon, Second United States Dragoons; Drs. Powers and Connolly of the 
Second; Dis. Norval and McKlechy, of the 79th; Lieut. Goodenough, of the 
Fourteenth Eegiment of Brooklyn; and Captain Griffin, of the Eighth New 
York. 

"There are about six hundred prisoners in this building, belonging to 
different regiments — the Second, Eighth, and Seventy-First New York, and 
Fire Zouaves. I send you some lists; publish them for the benefit of their 
friends. 

"Give my love to Mrs. Corcoran and all friends, and believe me your 
sincere and affectionate friend. 

"Michael Corcoran, 

" Colonel Sixty-ninth Reg., N. Y. S. M." 

In a subsequent letter to Captain Kirker Colonel Corcoran thus alludes 
to the faithful few who rallied at his call around the " Stars and Stripes."' 

'* I described briefly, in my last letter to you, the circumstances under 
which I was arrested, as also Captain Mclvor, Lieut. Connolly, Sergeants 
Murphy and Donohoe, Corporal Owen Duffy, and a few privates — all of 
whom shall always be among the first in my affection, and especially Lieut. 
Connolly, who was in advance, yet on looking and seeing me make a stand, 
he turned back, and stood by my side, ready to share his fate with 
mine.*' 

Among the privates who stood by their colonel on this trying occasion 
was James M. Rorty — of whom, — as one of the bravest and most talented 
young officers in the Union Army — I shall have more to say in due time. 

After sharing his Colonel's imprisonment in Richmond for nearly two 
months, Rorty and two of his comrades succeeded in making their escape. 
On his return to New York, Mr. Rorty published a long and highly inter- 



404 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FllANCIS MEAGHER 

esting account of his experiences during the campaign — in the Irish Ameri- 
can. From this I select some additional details relating to the manner of 
Colonel Corcoran's capture, and of his life in prison : — 

" When our attack failed, and the retreat began, Colonel Corcoran endea- 
vored to cover it by forming his nun in square, in which order he moved 
to the point at which we crossed Bull Pain, where, on account of the woods 
and the narrowness of the path down the bluffs that formed the west bank, 
it had to be reduced to a column. Sherman, who was in the square, told 
the men to get away as fast as they could as the enemy's cavalry were 
coming. 

" This prevented Colonel Corcoran from reforming the men in square on 
the other side of the Run, a movement which would have not only effectually 
repelled the enemy, but would also have covered the retreat of every bat- 
tery lost subsequently. It was in his endeavors to remedy the disorder and 
straggling caused by this u license to run," 1 that Colonel Corcoran (who, from 
the unfortunate and irreparable loss of Haggerty, and the absence of all 
his staff, was obliged to be somewhat in the rear,) was cut off from the 
main body of the regiment by the enemy's horse, and being able to rally only 
nine men, moved into a small house, to make a better defence, but was 
induced by some of his officers to surrender, as resistance was hopeless. 
Meantime about half a dozen men had joined him at the house, of whose 
arrival he was ignorant. Trifling as this reinforcement was, he surrendered 
so reluctantly that I verily believe had he known of it he would not have 

surrendered without a desperate fight. 

\ 
" As I shared all his subsequent misfortunes, and witnessed the mauly 

fortitude with which he bore them, the consistent dignity with which he 

repelled all overtures tor any parole that would tie up his hands from the 

Union cause, and repulsed some Southern friends who endeavored to seduce 

him from it, it may not be improper to sketch his prison life. 

'•Owing to the inadequate arrangements for our accommodation in Rich- 
mond, it was the afternoon of the 24th before some of us got anything to 
eat, so that we had eaten only once in four days. The colonel was 
extremely exhausted, but he desired all his men to be brought to him, 
'that he might take a look at — and know,' as he said, — 'those who had 
done their duty to the last.' 

'•Learning that some had no money and wanted clothing badly, he gave 
twenty dollars out of his own scanty resources for their use. He also 
purchased and sent a number of shirts to the wounded of his corps, and 



THE BULL EUN CAMPAIGN. 405 

sent some money to many of them also. He was never allowed to go out, 
not even to the hospital, to see his wounded men, which latter I heard 
him complain somewhat of. He was kept quite apart from us who were 
in the same building, although some of us managed to see him daily, or 
oftener. 

"I wish to contradict, however, a statement which has obtained uni- 
versal currency about him, and which is an unmitigated falsehood. He was 
never in irons, nor was he threatened with them from his capture until 
his removal to Charleston on the 10ih ult., when we last saw him. Rig- 
idly as he was watched, and great as was the importance attached to his 
safe-keeping — the consistent bearing of which I have already spoken, had 
won for him the respect of every Southern; and though it at first drew 
on him the virulent abuse of the Richmond press, even it ultimately changed 
its tone, and declared 'that the consistent obstinacy of that most impudent 
and inveterate of the Yankee prisoners, Colonel Corcoran, was preferable, 
by far, to the repentant professions and cringing course of some prisoners 
to obtain a parole.' 

"As to our general treatment it was harsh, although as long as any 
hope of the Government making an exchange remained, our guards were 
courteous and communicative, and I feel bound to say that the cavalry to 
whom we surrendered (the Clay Dragoons,) acted in every respect like chiv- 
alrous and honorable men.'' 

Casualties of the Sixty-ninth at Bule Run. 

Officers killed, 1 ; wounded, 3 ; prisoners, 5. 

Non-commissioned officers and privates. — Killed, 40; wounded, 85; pris- 
oners, 60. 



406 ME MOWS OF GL.\. THOMAS FEANC1S MEAGHEL 



CHAPTER LXII. 



FROM THE RETURN OF THE SIXTY-NINTH TO THE McMANUS 
FUNERAL. — THE WELCOME HOME. 

On July 24th, 1S61, the order to break camp and return to New York 
reached the 69th at Fort Corcoran. That evening they marched to Wash- 
ington, and biTOuacked for the night in the White House grounds. At noon, 
next day, they took the train for Baltimore. In marching through that 
city, on their way to the Philadelphia depot, they were loudly cheered, — 
a tribute of respect paid to no other Federal corps in that disaffected city. 
In Philadelphia the regiment was accorded a genuine and most enthusiastic 
welcome — in which the Feuian Brotherhood — as was natural— took the fore- 
most part. Owing to various impediments on the road, it was not until 
the morning of the 27th that the regiment arrived at New York. They 
lauded at the Battery, — having come by steamer from Perth Amboy. 

The scene at their reception was such as had rarely, if ever, been wit- 
nessed—up to that time — in New York. Indeed, with the exceptiou of 
that of the triumphant return of Colonel Corcoran, a year later — it was 
never surpassed in enthusiasm. It was simply indiscribable in words, 
though some idea of its character may be conceived from the fine painting 
which commemorates it, that can be seen in the "Governor's Room,'' in the 
New York City Hall. 

Captain James Kelly, as the senior line officer, was in command of the 
09th — which was then without field officers. By his side rode Captain 
Thomas F. Meagher. With the first news of the disastrous battle, he had 
been reported killed, and the joyous enthusiasm with which his well-known 
form was greeted by his delighted admirers, could scarcely have been more 
intense- had he actually come back to them irom the dead. His brother 
soldiers participated in the ovation tendered him. Every man of them, — 
officer and private — proudly felt, that, as far as men could do, they had 
redeemed the pledges which he made in their behalf on the day they lfet 



THE WELCOME HOME. 407 

the city to meet the enemies of the Union. They felt that they had jus- 
tified, by their conduct in the presence of these enemies, the confidence 
their friends and fellow-citizens reposed in them on that memorable day, 
end therefore, ragged, dusty, and travel-stained as they were — a portion of 
a defeated army — they did not feel themselves beaten, and would not accept )^ 
the shame of a defeat for which they, at all events, were not responsible. 

And yet amid all the exciting tumult, the salvos of artillery, the crash- 
ing of bauds, the cheers of the mighty multitude which lined their route 
— the prayers, the blessings, the congratulations and caresses of loving kin- 
dred and friends, there was scarcely a man amongst them who did not feel 
a pang of sadness chill his exultant heart-throbbings owing to the uncer- 
tainty of their beloved colonel's fate. That same reflection permeated the 
hearts of other thousands who missed the hero from his accustomed place 
at the head of his gallant command. 

Meagher Eulogizes his Comrades. 

In private conversation a few days after his arrival in New York, 
Meagher gave son.e interesting details of the recent campaign, which were 
not embodied in his published narratives. 

Of the bravery, and steadiness of all the line officers of the 69th he 
spoke in the highest terms of commendation. lie particularly eulogized 
captains James and Patrick Kelly, Breslin, Cavanagh, Clarke and the But- 
lers; lieutenants William of Company "H," and Edward K. Butler of the 
"Zouaves," lieutenants Maurice Wall and MacMahon — "Soldier Mack." He 
declared that "Harry Lorrequer" never drew the picture of a more rollick- 
ing, daring and dashing soldier than Sergeant Welpley proved himself 
throughout the three months' service; "a thorough soldier — no one was 
smarter, readier, or braver." 

[Note. — Frank Welpley First Sergeant in Company "H," Sixty-ninth 
Regiment, at the outbreak of the war, was. at the same time. Captain of 
Company "A" in the First Regiment Phoenix Brigade. As a military 
instructor he had no superior, and but few equals in either organization. 
Originally trained by the lamented Captain Haggerty, that officer felt proud 
of his pupil. Without any exemption he was the most zealous and success- 
ful recruiting officer in the military department of the Fenian Brotherhood, 
and a universal favorite — for his genial temperament and warm affectionate 
heart. His patriotism, amiability, and general fitness for the position, 
caused him to be selected as the representative delegate of the Phoenix Brigade 
at the McManus funeral. On his return from Ireland, in the spring of 1862, 



408 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHKB. 

he aided colonel Matt. Murphy in organizing the 69th, X. Y. S. M., for its 
four months' service at the front. 

When General Corcoran organized the Irish Legion in the autumn of 
that year, Frank Welpley was appointed Captain in its first regiment (the 
69th). He participated in every battle of the " Legion " until he was killed 
at Ream's Station, Va., August 5th, 1864. No better or braver soldier ever 
died for the cause of the Union. 

Captain Welpley was buried by his trusty comrades on the field where 
he fell, but, in the following year, his patriotic and true-hearted Irish wife 
had the remains of her gallant soldier disinterred, and, under her loving 
care, conveyed to Ireland, where she consigned them to a grave among 
those of his kindred in his native town of Skibbereen. 

O ! ERI MO CHROIDHE 'TA M' IXTINX ORT.* 

To the Memory of My Beloved Comrade Captain Welpley, Corcoran's 
Irish Legion. 

One still Christmas night, by the Potomac river, 

Our army lay cantoned in long ordered lines; 
Thp keen frosty air made the sentinels shiver. 

And icicles fringea the dark leaves of the pines. 
The bells, in the distance, were cheerily ringing, 
" Great tidings of joy !" to humanity bringing, 
While stetched by 'his camp- fire, a soldier lay singing — 

4 O ! Eri mo chroidhe 'ta m 1 intinn ort /' 

"I've loved you, dear Eire, as the mother that bore me, 

With her milk I imbibed deadly hate to your foe ; 
And I longed, as a man, like my fathers before me, 

To strike, for your freedom, a soldier's strong blow. 
But I saw, lamiue-stricken, your children lie dying, 
And maddened, I k rose' with my comrades, defying 
Their slayers. We failed! then o"er ocean sped signing — 
' 01 Eri mo chroidhe 'ta to' intinn ort!' 

" Since I first set my foot on this fair ' land of freedom.' 

In your service I've labored by night and by day; 
1 have trained your true sons, hoping sometime to lead them 

Jn disciplinea strength on your hills, far away. 
In the camp, on the march, in the hot rush of battle, 
'Mid the soldier's wild cheeis and the rifle's quick rattle, 
When the foe fly before us like panic-struck cattle — 

' 0! Eri mo chroidhe 'ta to' intinn ort!'' 

****** 
Long he fought in the ranks of the brave * w Irish Legion," 

r l hen fell ! — his last thought on the land he loved best; 
Bin, his name shall go down En's history's page on, 

And he sleeps in his own " Holy Isle of the West ! " 
On the bright wings of glory his soul fled upspringing, 
To his Brothers whose thoughts are to Ireland still clinging, 
'Mid angelic hosannas their voices join singing — 

" 0! Eri mo chroidhe Ha m' intinn ort!"] 

*0 Erin, my heart, my mind is on thee! (Pronounced "O Airle, mo hree, taa m* intinD 
ortl") 



THE WELCOME HOME. 409 



On August 3d the G9th was mustered out, and discharged from the 
service ot the United States. 

" Wilhin a few days thereafter, Captain Meagher returned to Washing- 
ton to see after some of the wounded men of the regiment, who were left 
in the hospitals of that city. He paid a visit to Fort Corcoran and found 
it occupied by three companies of U. S. Artiller}', while a division of eight 
thousand men were encamped in its immediate vicinity — the Ninth Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers — Colonel Cass's famous Irish regiment, being in the 
advance and engaged in the construction of an extensive redout to protect 
Fort Corcoran, and command Ball's Cross Roads, — the point of intersection 
of the Fairfax, Leesburg, and Alexandria turnpikes. 

During his stay at the capital, Captain Meagher was proffered by the 
War Department a captaincy in the regular army, which, however, he res- 
pectfully declined, with a request to the Secretary of War to transfer it to 
some other officer of the Sixty-ninth Regiment, who from a longer term of 
military service and a larger amount of practice than he could claim, might 
be better entitled to the distinction. He suggested to the Secretary's favor- 
able consideration Captain James Kelly, the senior Captain of the Sixty- 
ninth, who subsequently was appointed to the position. 

At the same time, owing to the influence and energy of one of Captain 
Meagher's most devoted friends in Washington, the services which, as the 
most influential man of his race on the continent, he was capable of ren- 
dering the cause of the Union, were recognized by some of the leading 
statesmen in the capital, one of whom, the Hon. Frank P. Blair, called 
Major-General Fremont's attention to the importance of the subject, where- 
upon General Fremont promptly sent the annexed dispatch to the gallant 
Irish soldier : — 

"Headquarters, Department of the West, 
St. Louis, Mo., 15th August, 1S61. 
" Captain T. F. Meagher, New York. 

•• Will you accept the position of Aid de-Camp on my staff, with the 
rank of Colonel? If so, report to me. 

"John C. Fremont. o 

"Major-General Commanding.'" 

Much as Meagher appreciated the compliment thus delicately proffered, he 
could not accept it in view of the fact that his brother officers of the 69th 
had it then in contemplation to reorganize the regiment for three years' 



■J10 J1EMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FEANCIS MEAGHER. 

service as Uiated States Volunteers, and he could not be induced to sever 
his connection with his battle-tried comrades. 

He had previously declined the proffered command of a new Irish regi- 
ment— then known as the ''Third New York Irish Regiment " — and on 
similar grounds — as will be seen from the following correspondence: — 

" Headquarters, 17 Centre Street, ] 
New York, July 31th, 1861. j 
11 CAr-T. T. F. Meagher. 

" Dear Sir. — The glorious example set to the Irish adopted citizens by 
the gallant 69th induced the formation of the "Third Irish Volunteers," 
and its principles are the same as theirs: — if the Irish perform a brave 
act, let them get the credit of it. 

"The 'Third Irish' have been accepted by the United States Govern- 
ment for the war, and will be ready to enter the field in a very short 
time. The officers, one and all, respectfully ask if you will be the man to 
lead them, they pledging themselves that you will never regret having 
accepted the command. 

'• On behalf of the regiment, the following officers cheerfully subscribe 
their names. 

" With every mark of respect, 

'■Respectfully yours v 
"P. D. Kelly, Lieutenant-Colonel. 
"Joseph McDonough, Capt. aud Acting Adjutant. 
"John A. McSorley, Acting Commissary." 

Captain Meagher's reply : — 

"New York, August 5th, 1S61. 

" Gentlemen : — In reply to your very complimentary and friendly com- 
munication of the 31st of last mouth — which press of duties in connection 
with the 69th prevented my acknowledging until this late moment, 1 beg 
to say that, whilst I should esteem it a high honor to be at the head of 
the regiment you are organizing, I am too strongly attached to the 69:n 
to be induced, — however powerful the temptation, — to break the ties which 
bind me to it. Those ties were formed and strengthened amid scenes and 
under influences which frequently give rise to and confirm the most fervent 
friendships. Having been in camp aud battle with the 69th I cannot find 
it in my heart to part from my tried and honored comrades, and, in memory 



THE WELCOME HOME. 411 

of the days during which I shared their fortunes, prefer the humblest posi- 
tion in their ranks to the highest I could hold with newer friends. 

" With sincere regards for each of you personally, and the friendliest 
wishes for the success of your regiment, I have the honor to be, gentlemen, 
" Most faithfully yours, 

" Thomas Francis Meagher, 

"Capt. Co. K, 69th Regt. 
"To Lieut-Col. P. D. Kelly, Capt. Jos. McDonough, and Acting-Com- 
missary McSorley, 3d Regiment Irish Volunteers, New York." 

[The " Third Irish Volunteers " subsequently served under the man of 
their choice as the " Sixty-third New York Volunteers " — " Irish Brigade."] 

When the call was issued for volunteers to serve for three years ^or 
during the war, the idea of orgauiziug a distinctive Irish Brigade originated 
among the officers of the 69th, who served in the three months' campaign. 
They intended that the command of the Brigade should be tendered to their 
most distinguished military countryman — the veteran General James Shields. 
Meagher entered into the project with his accustomed ardor, and immediately 
devoted all his abilities to carrying out the plan systematically and energeti- 
cally. It was intended that the organization should comprise five regiments of 
infantry, with a proportionate force of cavalry and artillery — three of the 
infantry regiments to be raised in New York, one in Massachusetts, and 
one in Pennsylvania; the nucleus of the New York contingent to be formed 
by such officers and men of the 69th as choose to reealist for three years. 
As a first step, Meagher was deputed by the great majority of his brother 
officers to communicate with the War Department on the subject contem- 
plated, in their behalf. 

His offer was promptly accepted, as will be seen by the following offi- 
cial document : — 

"War Department, Washington. ] 
August 30th, 1861. j 
"Colonel Thomas F. Meagher, New York. 

'•Sir — The regiment of infantry known as the Sixty-ninth infantry, 
which you offer, is accepted for three years or during the war, provided 
you have it ready for marching orders in thirty days. Tnis acceptance is 
with the distinct understanding that this Department will revoke the Com- 
missions of all officers who may be found incompetent for the proper dis- 
charge of their duties. Your men will be mustered into the United Statei 



412 MEMOIRS OF GES. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

service in accordance with General Orders Nos. 58 and 61. You are further 
authorized to arrange with the Colonels-commanding of other four regi- 
ments to be raised to form a Bridade, the Brigadier-General for which will 
be designated hereafter, by the proper authorities of the Government. 
"Very respectfully. 

"Your obedient servant, 

" Thomas a. Scott, 

'•Assistant Secretary of War.'' 

That there was no mistaking the choice of the officers as to who should 
be in command of the proposed Brigade, the following letter from Meagher 
to his friend and fellow-countryman — B. S. Treauor, of Boston, satisfac- 
torily demonstrates : — 

"New York. Sept. 5, 1S61. 

" My Dear Treanor, — Won't you be able to set to work aud start an 
Irish regiment in Boston for the Irish Brigade? Do so, and do so at once. 
There's no time, not a day to be lost. General Shields may be here in a 
month; and the Brigade should be ready for him. In case you undertake the 
preliminary steps necessary to the organization of such a regimen* - , select 
none but intelligent, active, steady young men — men of decent ^.iracter, 
ind with a proper sense of the duties and dangers of the service. 

" A grana rally shouM be made right away, by all of us, in support of 
the friendliest government Irishmen have ever known, and the overthrow of 
which is at this moment the eager desire and evil scheme of the ruling 
class in England, — a power which has been, as all the world knows, the 
nveteraie enemy of our race, — of its happiness and liberty at home, — of 
its success and good name abroad. Let the gallant Irish of Boston and 
Massachusetts generally be up and stirring in the national cause. Every 
blow dealt against the great conspiracy beats back the insolence and base 
plots of England. 

"Most faithfully your friend. 

" Thomas Francis Meagher." 

While thus ardently engaged in lighting the fires of patriotism in the 
hearts of his living countrymen, Thomas Frances Meagher was no less mind- 
ful of the claims which the gallant dead had upon the duty, the pride, and 
the affection of their race. The heroes who found crimsoned graves among 
the green woods of Virginia, as well as their returned brothers, whose 



THE SIXTY-NINTH FESTIVAL. 413 

wounds incapacitated them from earning a livelihood, had many a dear one 
deptndent on the fruits of their toil when living, and whom their death 
or disability left utterly destitute. 

To mitigate the sufferings of these bereaved parents, widows and 
orphans, — in so far as material aid and heartfelt sympathy could do so, — 
became the paramount duty and loving care of their fellow-citizens, — and 
more especially so, of the surviving comrades of the loved and lost. Bravely, 
hopefully, and fraternally did the latter undertake the sacred obligation. 
A festival, on an unprecedented scale, for the benefit of the widows and 
orphans of the Sixty-Ninth, was announced to take place on the 29th of 
August, in Jones' Wood, the chief attraction of which was to be an Ora- 
tion by Thomas Francis Meagher. 

Sixty-ninth Festival. 

• eep for him! oh, weep for him! but remember In your moan,— 
That he died in his pride — with his foes around him strown. 

Thomas Davis. 

The attendance at the "Sixty-ninth Festival " was never equaled in 
point of numbers by any gathering on Manhattan Island to which an 
admittance fee was charged. At the lowest estimate there were fifty thou- 
sand persons present. About one-fourth of the multitude congregated in 
front of the grand stand, from which Thomas Francis Meagher delivered — 
what was universally admitted to be — the grandest oration he had, up to 
that time, given in America. It was the first of a series of five magnificent 
addresses, which, in as many weeks, he delivered before immense assem- 
blages, in Boston, Bridgeport, Brooklyn, and New York. Those speeches 
were published in every leading journal throughout the loyal States, and 
their effect in favor of the Union cause was incalculable. It is no exag- 
geration to say that they influenced ten times as many Irishmen to enrol 
themselves in defence of the " Stars ard Stripes," as the orator personally 
commanded in his famous "Brigade;" and should these speeches, together 
with his many others in the same cause, be collected and published in a 
permanent form, they will constitute a stronger claim on the admiration 
and gratitude of the American people than will the imperishable record of 
his splendid services in the field. 

From the magnificent oration at "Jones' Wood" I select two brief pas- 
sages, — the first extract being taken from his beautiful and pathetic tribute 
to his dead comrades: — 



4U MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS I'JiANCIS MEAGHEli. 

'•Peacefulness and joyousness and glory — such as no home on earth, 
however blest, confers, nor the most affluent city, in the fullness of its grat- 
itude and grandeur can decree — be for eternity to those who fell, on that 
ttrrible Sunday in July, in the tempest which swept with flames, and beat 
back, on a deluge of carnage and consternation, the army that had advanced 
to restore in an insurgent State the supremacy of the national authority. 
Peacefulness, and joyousness and glory be to those who fell in this great 
eudeavor, wherever they may have been born, at whatever altar they may 
have worshiped, to whatever school of politics they may have belonged. 
Peacefulness, and joyousness, and glory, eternal and supreme, be to tho:-e 
who, venturing here from Ireland, — conceived in her womb, nourished at 
her breast, nurtured and emboldened as her children only are — went forth 
without a thought of home, of reward or danger, of any ties however 
dear, of any compensation small or great, of any consequences however des- 
perate and fatal they might be. to maintain in arms the authority of the 
government to which they swore allegiance, and in the perpetuation of which 
their interests, as emigrants driven by devastating laws and practices from 
their native soil are vitally involved. 

u As this prayer goes foith. the scene before me seems to pass away. 
Dense white clouds rise from the earth und intercept it. Lightnings sweep 
through those clouds, and in the brightest sunshine that can bless the earth 
a tempest opens which shakes the torests and the mountains with its thun- 
ders, and floods the meadows with a rain that turns to red their greenest 
blades of grass. Again the scene changes. The storm has ceased. The 
white clouds have vanished. On the glowing horizen the mountains of Vir- 
ginia blend their grand forms with a sky of speckless blue, and, silent as 
the pyramids of the desert, overlook the wreck and ravages which the ex- 
hausted storm has left behind it. As they seem to me — their vast webs of 
emerald green, interwoven with the golden skeins which the sun flings out 
— in their restored freshness and beauty, the woods, where the storm most 
fiercely raged, deepen and expand for miles. The grass of the meadows 
grows green again, and the streams which had been troubltd and stained 
like them, pursue their old paths in peaceluluess and purity, as though no 
flashing hoofs and wheels, no burning feet pressing in thousands to the 
charge, no shot or shell had harrowed them. 

" But on the silent fields which these noble mountains overlook, and 
those deep groves shadow, I see many a strong and gallant soldier of the 
Sixty-ninth whom I knew and loved, and they lie there in the rich sun- 
shine discolored and cold in death. All of them were from Ireland, and as 



THE SIXTY N1XTH FESTIVAL. 



the tide of life rushed out, the last thought that left their hearts was for 

the liberty of Ireland. 

" Prominent amongst them, strikingly noticeable by reason of his large, 

iron frame, and the boldly chiselled features on which the impress of great 

•strength of will and intellect was softened by a constant play of humor, 
and the goodness and grand simplicity of his heart— wrapped in his rough 
old overcoat, with his sword crossed upon his breast, his brow boldly up- 
lifted as though he was still in command, and the consciousness of having 
done his duty sternly to the last animating the Roman face — there lies 
James Haggekty — a braver soldier than whom the land of Sarsfield and 
Shields has not produced, and whose name, worked in gold upon the colors 
of the Sixty-ninth, should be henceforth guarded with all the jealousy and 
pride which inspires a regiment, wherever its honor is at stake and its 
standards are in peril." 

The other extract which I give from this splendid address, contains a 
declaration of the principles which actuated the speaker in his efforts to 
maintain the integrity of the Union, and may be said to constitute the text, 
from which all his subsequent arguments in favor of the national cause 
were drawn : — 

" Will the Irishmen of New York stand by this cause — resolutely, hear- 
tily, with inexorable fidelity, despite of all the sacrifices it may cost, des- 
pite of all the dangers into which it may compel them, despite of the 
bereavements and abiding gloom it may bring upon such homes as this day 
miss the industry and love of the dead soldiers of the Sixty-ninth, but in 
some measure to console and succor which the festivities of this day have 
taken place? 

" For my vart^ I ask no Irishman to do that which I myself am not pre- 
pared to do, My heart, my arm, my life is pledged to the national cause, 
and to the last it will be my highest pride, as I conceive it to be my 
holiest duty and obligation, to share its fortunes. I care not to what party 
the Chief Magistrate of the Eepublic has belonged. I care not upon what 
plank or platform he may have been elected. The platform disappears be- 
fore the Constitution, under the injunction of the oath he took on the steps 
of the Capitol the day of his inauguration. The party disappears in the 
presence of the nation — and as the Chief Magistrate, duly elected and duly 
sworn, is bound to protect and administer the national property for the 
benefit of the nation, so .should every citizen concur with him in loyal and 
patriotic action, discarding the mean persuasions and maxims of the local 



416 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

politician — and substituting the national interests, the national efficiency, the 
national honor, for the selfishness, the huckstering or the vengeance of a 
party." 

The McManus Funeral. — Meagher and Mitchel. — A Thrilling 
Incident. 

Great as were the demands made on Meagher's time at this period by 
his indefatigable exertions in behalf of the national cause — in organizing, 
traveling, and exhorfeing — in glorifying the dead who ft 11 in its defence, 
or mitigating the sufferings of their destitute bereaved ones, he was not 
uumindful of the claims which the cause and the comrades of his early 
manhood hail upon his duty and his love. 

In a previous chapter I have recorded the important part which he had 
taken in the movement for the transfer of Terence Bellew McManus"s remains 
to Ireland. That was before the outbreak of the war called him to the front; 
but on his return, in the midst of the other onerous duties devolving upon 
him, he resumed his former position on the Obspquies Committee with his 
associates O'Mahony and Doheny, and labored therein with his accustomed 
energy. 

Pursuant to a call of the Ex"Ct:Mve Committee a public meeting; of all 
the citizens of New York favorable to the project, was held at hviug Hall 
on Thursday evening, September 5th, Thomas Francis Meagher in the chair. 

In the course of the proceedings allusion was made to the manner in 
which the Irish soldiers distinguished themselves in every battle field from 
Dunkirk and Fontenoy to Bull Run — whereupon some one in the audience 
called for " three cheers for Thomas Francis Meagher — who fought so 
bravely at Bull Run." Three ringing cheers were giveu. Three more were 
thon called for Colonel Michael Corcoran. A most enthusiastic burst of 
applause — again and again repeated — greeted the name of the gallant chief 
of the Sixty-ninth. Pausing until the cheering: had subsided, Meagher, with 
gleaming eye and quivering lip, and his cheek flushing with the rich blood 
that welled up lrona his proud, loving heart, cried out: — 

"Now that you have testified your loving admiration for the brave Irish 
soldier of the Union, I call upon you to give three cheers for the two 
sons of John Mitchel, who are fighting as bravely on the other side." 

The effect was electrical. None who witnessed it could ever forget it. 
The wild, ringing cheers, repeated over and over, shook the banners that 



THE SIXTY-NINTH FESTIVAL. 417 

festooned the walls, and showed that a chord in the Irish heart had been 
struck, — as none but Meagher could strike it, — and those responsive notes tes- 
tified to the feeling with which those fiery-eyed Celts — many ot whom were 
among the first to spring to arms in defence of the ''Starry Banner" — regarded 
the name of Mitchel; for they loved and venerated the father of those gallant 
boys, not only for the sufferings he so heroically endured in the cause of 
their common country, but because he, above all his cotemporaries, was the 
man who most truly and forcibly gave expression to that country's national 
ideas. 

What John Mitchel, on his part, thought of his countrymen in the Union 
ranks may be seen in the annexed extract from one of his Paris letters 
dated August 7th, 1861. It shows that there was tk no love lost between 
them.'' : — 

" For the sake of the island that bred them I am rejoiced that the 69th 
Regiment did its duty in the bloody day of Manassas. — They have seen 
some service at last, and of the sharpest ; so that I imagine the men who 
faced Beauregard's artillery and rifles until Bull Run ran red, will not be 
likely to shrink on the day (when will it dawn, that white day?) that 
they will have the comparatively light task of whipping their weight of 
red-coats." 

Arrival of McManus's Remains in New York. — Archbishop Hughes 
and Meagher 

On the afternoon of Friday, September 13th, the remains of Terence 
Bellew McManus arrived in New York on board the steamship Champion. 
On Saturday morning they were landed and conveyed to the Stevens House 
— to lie there in state until Monday, under a guard of honor. A committee 
was appointed to wait on Archbishop Hughes in relation to the performing 
of a solemn high requiem mass on Monday morning. Thomas Francis 
Meagher, chairman of the committee, was on terms of most friendly inti- 
macy with the Archbishop — who was then heartily and most efficaciously 
cooperating with him in his efforts to maintain the integrity of the Union. 
In response to the request of the committee as conveyed through their 
chairman, the Archbishop said that there would be a solemn requiem mass 
at half-past ten on Monday morning, and he suggested it would be best 
not to have the remains brought to the Cathedral until then, as their pres- 
ence there on Sunday would interfere with the ordinary services held in 
the sacred edifice, from the fact that they would be continually visited by 

27 



418 MEMOIRS OF GEH. THOMAS FBANCI8 31EAGHEB. 

crowds of people. For the same reason he recommended that, after the 
religious ceremonies were concluded, the remains should be transferred from 
the Cathedral to the receiving vault in Calvary Cemetery, there to remain 
until the time came for their transmission to Ireland. His Grace also promisea 
to be present at the religious services, and make a few remarks befitting 
the occasion. 

In reply to the invitation of the committe that he would attend the 
public funeral demonstration — the Archbishop said that — 

"Nothing would give him more gratification than to identify him«elf 
with the honors to be paid to our deceased countryman, Terence Bellew 
MeManus, that nothing would prevent his attending, but he had made a 
rule for the last twenty years, much against his disposition in many instan- 
ces, and his heart in most, not to participate in any funeral honors, even 
to those most dear to him, that theiefore, (though he liked MeManus, who, 
he believed, did all he had done for pure love of country, and not with 
the view of personal honor or emolument,,) he felt obliged to decline the 
invitation." 

The Archbishop also informed the committee that, " on the occasion of 
the religious services, he wanttd no secret societies to enter the Cathedral 
in their regalia." 

(That His Grace did not intend this interdiction to apply to the mili- 
tary organization of the Fenian Brotherhood was evidenced by the fact that, 
on the occasion in question, the Guard of Honor — which escorted the 
remains into the Cathedral, and were assigned pews on either side of the 
bier, — was selected from the " Phceuix Zouaves.") 

At the appointed hour on Monday, September 14th, the coffin contain- 
ing the remains of the Exile of 'Forty-eight was brought into the Cathe- 
dral, and placed on pedestals in the middle aisle. The Executive Commit- 
tee and the officers of the new Irish Brigade were provided with reserved 
seats in its immediate vicinity, after which the doors were thrown open 
and the church was immediately filled. 

A solemn high mass of requiem was then sung by the clergy and choir, 
the Rev. Father Starrs, V. G., celebrant. During the celebration of mass 
the venerable Archbishop occupied a seat at the right side of the sanctuary. 
At the termination of the rites he arose, assumed his full pontificals, and 
descending to the first step of the sanctuary, the old man, in a voice clear 
and strong, delivered this ever memorable address : — 



ARCHBISHOP HUGHES AND MEAGHER. 419 



Arch-Bishop Hughes's Address Over Terence Bellew McManus. 

"It is a great deal for us to know and to be able to state that the 
deceased, whose remains are now before the altar, loved his country. In 
all times, in all nations, and under all circumstances, whether of savage or 
civilized life, love of country has always been held as a virtue; and the 
Catholic Church always approves of that virtue, for in the teaching of her. 
doctrines the love of country comes next to the love of God, next to that 
comes the love of friends, relatives, neighbors and society. 

"Now this love of country has generally been understood as that by 
wbich men defend their native or their adopted soil, and support its gov- 
ernment when that government is lawful and not oppressive. If that gov- 
ernment should degenerate into oppression and tyranny then would come 
the love of country, but not its government. This has been the rule, not 
by authority but by recognition of the Catholic Church, in all ages, and 
throughout the world. 

" It is manifest, and it is sometimes made a reproach, that our prin- 
ciples leaD, as some say, too much to the side of what is called conseiv- 
at ; sm. This is to a certain extent true; but if true, it is the more derserv- 
ing of approval. 

"We have not read that in the propagation of the Catholic faith, even 
in the times of the Caesars, of the Neros, the Caligulas, the Dioclesians, 
Christians ever took the case into their own hands and rebelled. They had 
not in the Gospel which they came to teach any precepts to that effect. 
Whenever they went to other and distant nations to proclaim the truths of 
tne Gospel they did not find in the charter of their mission any special 
authority to overthrow the established civil state. 

" Nevertheless, some of the most learned and holy men of that church 
have laid it down with the general sanction of authority that there are 
rises in which it is lawful to resist and overthrow a tyrannical government. 

"The* instances, indeed, in history are not many; but there is one to 
which all English-speaking people refer, and that is the contest between 
King John and Cardinal Langton and the Barons of England at Runny- 
mede. That was a lawful resistance, and it was one to which the tyrant 
had to succumb. But on the other hand it must be observed that those 
rebellious Barons sought only the recovery of rights of which that tyran- 
»ieal Prince sought to deprive the English people. Little by little the 
ttoone had be.n encroaching upon the rights of the people; and those men, 



420 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

as protectors of those rights, took their stand, and finally succeeded in 
obtaining what is called a Magna Charta, the great broad seal of English 
liberty. And yet no man ever saw that Magna Charta, either in manuscript 
or in print. It was handed over to the keeping of tradition, and the viola- 
tion of it w T 0uld be a cause of justifiable resistance against the government 
down to the present day. 

" This is a right which the Catholic Church recognizes. 

"The only difficulty is to know at what given point an attempt to 
redress the grievances complained of may be commenced. The same author- 
i ties to which I have referred, particularly St. Thomas Aquinas, lay down 
three distinct conditions to authorize such an attempt. 

" The first of these is that the grievance should be a real one, an 
actual oppression, for it is very difficult to reestablish a government when once 
overthrown. And we have seen that it is not more than twelve or thirteen 
years ago when new ideas sained the mastery over old governments. Changes 
were made, but the reforms were very few. The conditions then laid down 
— first, the grievance must be a real one, either a new oppression, or an 
old one magnified almost beyond endurance. 

" The second is, that a war of resistance — that is, the impulse to resist 

should be a general one, taking in the whole population of the injured 

country with their united will, their common sense of the wrong inflicted, 
and their determined purpose to stand by each other, shoulder to shoulder, 
till they obtain redress. 

"The third condition is, the possession of the means and ability where- 
with to accomplish, with a reasonable hope of success, what they under- 
take; for if they have not the ability and the other conditions requisite it 
becomes a crime to undertake the task. It is at all time3 and under all 
circumstances an immense responsibility to commence a revolution, an insur- 
rection, a rebellion, or by whatever name it may be called. It is attended 
with immense risk to the bodies and frequently to the souls of those who 
undertake it without feeling their way and knowing thoroughly what they 
are about. 

" Nevertheless, in the case to which I have referred there can be no reproach. 
The young man whose brief and chequered career has come to an end in 
a distant land, and to whose memory and remains you pay your respects, 
was one who was willing to sacrifice— and I may say did sacrifice — his 
prospects in life, and even his life itself, for the freedom of the country 
which he loved so well, and which he knew had been oppressed for centu- 
ries. When the effort was made it is true he did not stop, he did not 



THE 36-MANUS OBSEQUIES. 421 

dally to inquire about the circumstances as laid down by St. Thomas, but 
he went into it disinterestedly, and willing to undergo all the risks and 
responsibilities of the contest. 

" But this is not all. The traditions that surround his name represent 
o'tn to us as a man, not perhaps of the most brilliant capacity, but one 
of a constant heart and mind, and what is still more, one who, because he 
loved his country, did not cease on that account to love his God. 

"Through life, with whatever imperfections are common to humanity, 
he never forsook his religion ; he loved his church and died in her Holy Com- 
munion. And it is for this, beside the public honor you pay to his remains, 
that those remains are brought before the altar of God, and every prayer 
and solemn rite is offered up for his eternal welfare. This is the part of the 
occasion which would refer to me more particularly, and it now only 
remains for you to unite your prayers for the repose of the departed soul, and 
reflect that, whether taken away in the prime of lite or at an advanced 
age, all must reach the game end at. last. This is the end of life, and if 
any one wishes to study the whole of his nature and the great object for 
which God placed him in this world, he will know 'that it is to do his 
duty to God and man, and by so doing to prepare himself for the enjoy- 
ment of another world, in which there will be no insurrections, no oppres- 
sions, nor tears, nor sorrows." 

At the conclusion of the Archbishop's address, a procession was form- 
ed from the altar to the coffin, when his Grace and the clergy intoned the 
office for the dead, the choir assisting. The Archbishop then incensed and 
asperged the coffin, which was replaced in the hearse and conveyed to the 
vault in Calvary cemetery, where it remained until the time arrived for 
transferring it to the steamer for Ireland. 

For over a mouth the remains of T. B. McManus rested in Calvary 
cemetery. Durirg that time all the necessary preparations for their trans- 
mission to Ireland and their reception there, had been perfected by the 
Obsequies Committees of New York and Dublin. It had been decided that 
they should leave the former city on Saturday, October 19th, and that the 
funeral procession should take place on the day previous. 

As the representative of Waterford, Thomas Francis Meagher was nom- 
inated one of the thirty-two pall-bearers, but, as he was unavoidably absent 
from the procession — having been detained in Albany by Governor Morgan 
on business connected with the Irish Brigade, — his place in the funeral was 
occupied by his friend John Savage. 



422 MEMOIRS OF GSX. 'rilOlIAS XBAXCIS MEAGHEB. 

He was, however, present at the departure of the steamer on the nest 
day to take his last leave of all that was mortal of his gallant comrade. 
I met him on the pier, and, as I was about to accompany the remains to 
Ireland, and he was certain to proceed with his Brigade to the seat of 
war before we could meet ajrain, our farewell interview was what may be 
expected under the circumstances. 

He had felt considerably annoyed for some time past, by the manner 
In which Irish demagogues and journalists had been persistently and malig- 
nantly misrepresenting him to the people there — in respect to his course 
on the war — (for but one influential national journal — the Irishman, — and 
but one of the leading Confederates of "48, then in Ireland, P. J. Smith, — 
stood manfully by the Union in this crisis). The so-called "liberal" papers, 
metropolitan and provincial, having gone as far as they dared in reechoing 
the sentiments of the Tory press, and in reproducing the calumnious slan- 
ders and inuendoes circulated by a kindred gang of cowardly traitors amongst 
the loyal Irishmen of the Northern States — in the interest of the South, 
and for the gratification of their own envious natures. 

In his great speech, delivered in the Music Hall, New York, a few 
days previously, Meagher thus expressed his opiniou of those Irish inter- 
meddlers and their congenial American U'aitors: — 

"For my part — discharging my duty as an American citizen, and hold- 
ing myself responsible alone to the Republic from which that citizenship 
was derived, and the God who was the implored witness of my oath — for 
my part, I reject with a disdain which the veriest meanness, paltriness and 
obsequiousness could alone provoke, the opinions of the Irish politicians on 
this war — the demagogues and oracles, whether they be scribblers or spout- 
ers, who intrude their ignorance into this conflict, and with their raw 
notions of liberty and democracy endeavor to wean the Irish-born citizens 
of the American Union from their duty to the laws, the magistracy, and 
the sovereignty of the Republic from which they derive the only political 
consequence they have ever as yet possessed. 

" Indeed, I should not have wasted one syllable in the repudiation of 
the drivelling commentators who, from their dungeons and obscurity, look 
out upon and scrutinize the trials of a nation which, consecrated to peace, 
was so remotely disposed and so inadequately prepared for war — I should 



THE McMANUS OBSEQUIES. 423 

not have wasted one syllable in the repudiation of these abject, inane, and 
melancholy drivellers, if it had not been, that here, in this very city, 
they have had for their sophistries something like an influential reiteration. 
You know it well. Every body who hears me will confirm the assertion. 
There are men in this city, there are indeed, men throughout the North in 
every State, town, village, ward and parish of it— whose business it is, ia 
their peculiarly sly way, to disparage the National cause, extenuate or exalt 
the South, and worming themselves amongst the Democracy, arrest and im- 
pede the enlistment under the National banners- of those brave fellows who 
have no other instinct but to be where the Stars and Stripes demand their 
services." 

Being aware of his sensitiveness regarding the attitude of the Irish peo- 
ple on the war, and his position therein, I assured him that, soon after 
our arrival in Ireland, it would be made manifest to the world that those 
impudent traducers of the National character to whom he referred, spoke 
but their own slavish preferences, and those of the canting, hypocritical 
chss who were always opposed to the National sentiment except where it 
suited their personal interests to assume the role of patriots, and that, as we 
knew, — better than any other living men — the motives that actuated him 
in assuming the position he held in the controversy — our brothers in Ire- 
land should know it too — and then let his maligners there continue their 
work — if they dare. 

And so we parted — for the time — with high hopes for the cause of 
liberty in our native and adopted land. 

Ireland's Attitude on the American Question. 

The McManus funeral, as a demonstration of National sentiment and 
Narioual power, was a grand success — despite the efforts of the, so-called, 
Irish Liberal Journals, who tried to "throw cold water" upon it — and on 
every other manifestation of the National spirit — after their slippery fashion, 
and who, on the American question, tried to turn the sympathy of th^ir 
readers lrom the side to which they were led by instinct, reason, and affec- 
tion; a sioe in which thouspnds of their kith and kin were engaged, and 
on the success of which they believed that the hope of achieving the lib- 
erty of their native land, in a great measure, depended. 

To stem the tide of calumny which the pro-British organs and their 



424 MEMOIBS OF'GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

Irish toadies were directing against the cause of " Union and Liberty," the 
Nationalists of the Irish metropolis requested Colonel Doheny, of the Amer- 
ican Delegation, to deliver an address on tiie subject which then occupied 
the attention of tyrant and patriot, freeman and slave, the world over, and 
in response thereto, the Colonel, on the 18th of November, delivered a lec- 
ture in the Theatre of the Mechanic's Institute, Dublin, on 

"The Present Aspect op American Affairs." 

The concluding sentence of that eloquent appeal was most enthusiasti- 
cally applauded by the discriminative audience: — 

"They who drag a single star from that sacred constellation of liberty 
should have the hand of every man against them. They would have agaiust 
them the prayers of every man. trom the Ehine to the Danube, who pined 
in a dungeon, died on the held, or perished on the block in the sacred 
cause of liberty." 

This lecture was subsequently repeated by Colonel Doheny in other por- 
tions of Ireland. He thus served to prepare the public mind for the great 
National demonstration of sympathy with America which the Irish Revolution- 
ary Brotherhood, under the leadership of James Stevens, and in" conjunction 
with 'the American Fenian representatives, got up in Dublin a few weeks 
later, when, on account of the peremptory demand made by the British 
Government for the surrender ot Mason and Slidel, war between England 
and America was considered inevitable by the friends and foes of both 
nations in Ireland. 

That the British government were inclined to recognize the Southern 
States, even after they knew that Mason and Slidell were to be given up, 
was made apparent from the jeering and defiant tone of the chief organs 
of both political parties in England. 

These taunts and threats brought the manhood of Ireland to their feet, 
and they determined to give them the lie direct — so far as their country 
was concerned. So the meeting was held in their metropolis, the sympathy 
of the Nation declared to be in favor of the American Union, the English 
government defied, and dared to attempt the carrying out of their nefarious 
designs on the great bulwark of human freedom. 

This timely warning did not pass unheeded. The partizans of the govern- 
ment in Ireland, terrified at the unexpected display of national power and 
organized discipline mauifested in the McManus demonstration in Cork and 



DEPABTUBE OF THE IBISH BBIGADE. 



Dublin, felt that they were standing on a rumbling volcano, and so warned 
their masters and protectors. The result was that the "British Lion" — 
though snarling and showing his decayed fangs, kept his distance, and let 
the Americans fight it out. 



CHAPTER LXIII. 



DEPAETUKE OF THE IRISH BRIGADE. —FLAG PRESENTATIONS. — 
MEAGHER AND SHIELDS. 

"Oh, land of true freedom! Oh, land of our love, 

With your generous welcome to all who but seek it; — 
May your stars shine as long as the twinklers above, 

Acd your fame be so grand that no mortal can speak It! 
All the winds of the world as 'round it they blow, 

No banner fo glorious can wake into motion; 
And with peace in our ®wu land, you know we may go 

Just to settle some trifling accounts o'er the ocean! 

Chakles G Halpinb. 

After three months' unwearied exertion, in which many annoying im- 
pediments were encountered, Meagher had the Irish Brigade ready for march- 
ing orders. It consisted of three regiment of Infantry and two batteries of 
artillery — all New York troops; — for the Governors of Massachusetts and 
Pennsylvania, refused to allow the Irish commands recruited in those States, 
to join it. 

The First Regiment of the Irish Brigade was designated the C9th N. 
Y. V., of which Lieut.-Colonel Robert Nugent (of the old 69th) was Col- 
onel; James Kelly, Lieut.-Colonel; and James Cavanagh, Major. 

(The "Second" place in the organization was intended for the Boston 
regiment). 

The "Third" was the G3d N. Y. V., Richard C. Enwright, Colonel; 
Henry Fowler, Lieut.-Colonel ; and Thomas F. Lynch, Major. 

The "Fourth'" was the 88th N. Y. V., Henry M. Baker, Colonel; Pat- 
rick Kelly, Lieut.-Colonel; and James Quinlan, Major. 



426 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

The two Batteries of Artillery were commanded by Captain William H. 
Hogan, and Captain Henry J. McMahon. 

The 69th left New York for Washington on the 18th of November, 
1861, the 63d on the 23th of that month, and the SSth with the Batteries 
on the 16th of December. 

Previous to the departure of the 69th, each regiment of the Brigade 
was presented, by the ladies of Xew York, with an American and an Irish 
(flag, together with the usual regimental guidons. The "Green Flag" was 
emblazoned with the national emblems — tbe '" Sunburst," "Harp," and '-Sham- 
rock-wreath." The ancient Gaelic motto on its scroll was furnished by the 
eminent Irish scholar. John O'Mahony, who adopted it from Oisiu, the 
Fenian bard. 

The heroes for whom that motto was selected proved how appropriate 
it was by their fidelity to its injunction.* 

The presentation of the flags took place in front of the residence of 
Archbishop Hughes, on Madison Avenue. It had originally been intended 
that the Archbishop should make the presentation in person; but he had 
been hurriedly dispatched to Europe by the Government on an important 
mission, and in his absence the Vicar-General, Dr. Starrs, officiated. 

Judge Daly presented the flags to the 69th in a spirited and effective 
speech, in which he it called many historic attestations of Irish valor when 
regulated by discipline, as stimulating examples to those he was addressing. 



*'Riamh nar dhruid o spalrn lann!" i. e. "Never retreat from the clash of spears!" 
The original idea from which ihis phrase was derived is embodied in a stanzi of 
a poem attributed to Oisln, ent.tied the " Agallamh 1 " — (" A Dialogue Between Oisiu and 
St. Patrick."] 

The Saint having asserted that all the bard's old associates were In hell, because of 
their uubeiief la the true God, the incredulous old Pagan maiguautly retoited: — 
•'Do m-biadh Fionn agam a's Mac an-Loin — 

Dias nar dhruid o ghleo na-lann ; 
D' aimdheoln do chliar agus a g-cloig, 
Is agulnu do bbel iheadh, an baa." 
Which may be thus rendered Into English verse: — 

"Were Fionn and Mac an Loin with me,— 

(Two who ne'er shunned the clash of spears;) 
Despite thy clerics, beils and thee — 
We'd hold — where Satan domineers." 
M Mac an-L«in " — the naue of Fion MacCumhall's spear. 



DEPARTURE OF THE IRISH BRIGADE 



He concluded by a well-merited tribute to Colouel Corcoran, pointing him 

out as an Irish example of the faith and fidelity that is due by a soldier 
to his flag, "for, though now within the -walls of a Southern prison that 
gallant soldier had the satisfaction of feeling that he owed his sad yet 
proud preeminence to having acted as became a descendant of Sarsfleld." 

Colonel Nugent received the colors on bolialf of his regiment, and 
thanked the lady donors in a brief but appropriate speech. 

Mr. Malcolm Campbell then ied forward Mrs. Thomas Francis 
Meagher, who, with a charming dignity, presented a like set of Irish and 
American colors to the 88th Eegiment, X. Y. V., of Fourth Regiment Irish 
Brigade. Mr. Campbell then on her behalf, and that of the other lady don- 
ors, addressed the regiment in a spirit-stirring speech winding up with the 
impassioned hope of Thomas Davis — 

"That, In some day to come the "Green" shall flutter o'er the "Red." 

Mr. John T. Doyle, leading Miss Mary Devlin, presented the standards 
to the Artillery in an el quent speech, which was responded to by Thomas 
Francis Meagher, then Colonel of the 10th Artillery, and the Acting-Chief 
of the Irish Brigade. 

The 63d had their colors presented to them at their camp on David's 
Island by Hon. "William E. Robinson. 

On the 23d of November Meagher sent the following telegram from 
Washington : — 

"The 69th — the First Regiment of the Irish Brigade — were reviewed yes- 
terday by General Casey, along with four regiments from Pennsylvania and 
Maine. The appearance of the 'new 69th' was extraordinarily perfect and 
brilliant. The 'Irish Brigade' leads the way in the National Army, in the 
hopes and hearts of the Government and people of the American Republic. 
War with England is imminent : the Iri»h Brigade will be the first to meet 
the music. The Fourth and Fifth Regiments must hold themselves in readi- 
ness for marching orders. Ireland's day has come! 

"Thomas Francis Meagher."' 

When the loyal citizens of the United States hailed with universal jubi- 
lation the action of Captain Wilkes, in taking the Confederate Envoys 
Mason and Slidell, from oft' an English steamer on the high seas, and when 
Congress endorsed the deed of that gallant officer by passing a vote of 



428 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

thanks in his honor; when the country was left for over a month under 
the impression that this attitude was proper and dignified — becoming the 
honor of the Nation — less impressible men than Meagher might be excused 
for crediting the Government with more consistency than they exhibited 
when put to the test in that diplomatic game of " bluff" by their wily 
"Anglo-Saxon cousius " — over the water. 

Meagher and Shields. 

On the ICth of December the Fourth and Fifth Regiments of the Brigade, 
under command of Meagher, left New York for Washington, and two days 
after the SSth joined the 69th, and 63d at "Camp California," on the Fair- 
fax turnpike near Alexandria, The "Batteries" were detained for instruc- 
tion at the artillery camp near Washington. 

Up to this time no answer had been received from General Shields in 
relation to the offer made him to take command of the Irish Brigade. He 
had left California for Mexico before the news of his appointment could 
reach him, and it was not until some months after that he received the 
communication. In the meantime it was rumored that he would not accept 
the position of Brigadier-General of Volunteers — as it was beneath the rank 
he formerly held in the service. Though this rumor was unfounded in fact, 
and was, most probably, circulated for nefarious purposes, yet it was plaus- 
ible, and received some credit among the officers of the Brigade, who there- 
upon turned to Meagher as the man of their choice to lead the command 
which he was chiefly instrumental in organizing. 

As a preliminary step in this direction, a meeting of the officers of 
the "Fourth" and "Fifth" Regiments of the Brigade was held at Fort 
Schuyler on the evening before their departure for Washington, Colonel H. 
M. Baker in the chair, and Captain Maxwell O'Sullivan, Secretary, "for th' 
purpose of giving an expression of opinion as to the appointment of Colouel 
Meagher to a Brigadier's office. " The following preamble and resolutions 
were unanimously adopted : — 

" Firmly impressed, as all the officers of the Irish Brigade are, with 
the absolute necessity of the appointment of Colonel Thomas Francis Meagher, 
of the 10th Regiment of Artillery, to the Brigadier-Generalship, both from 
the very decided feeling of the men of their commands on the subject, as 
well as to the patent fact that to him, his influence, eloquence and worth, 
the existence of the Brigade is solely and entirely owing, 

"Resolved, That a deputation from the Eighty-eighth and Tenth Regi- 



MEAGHER AND SHIELDS. 429 

ments, consisting of the field, staff and line officers of the two Regiments, be 
requested to wait on the President of the United States, and submit to 
him the reasons why the above appointment is considered of vital importance 
to the successful efforts of the Brigade in the field, and to impress on him 
that the officers of the Briga.ie are altogether influenced by the most heart- 
felt desire of serving their adopted country most efficaciously, by requesting 
an early and careful investigation into the claims of Thomas F. Meagher 
to the above command." 

On the 19th of December, a deputation of the officers of the Brigade 
waited on President Lincoln to urge Meagher's appointment as the choice 
of the whole Brigade. They were introduced by Senator Preston King, and 
ably seconded by General Frank P. Blair. The result was that, on next 
day the President sei^t the name of Thomas Francis Meagher to the Senate 
for confirmation for the position of Brigadier-General of Volunteers in the 
service of the Union. 

But a secret clique was at work to defeat Meagher's confirmation, it 
was, most likely, the same jealous, selfish plotters wno circulated the false 
reports concerning General Shields in connection with the Brigadier-Gener- 
alship, for now they brought forward the old veteran's name again, cham- 
pioning his claim as agaiust that of Meagher, and insidiously charging the 
latter with supplanting the older and more experienced soldier, and thus 
causing the loss of his valuable services to the Union. By this contempt- 
ible course, the plotters hoped to influence Shields's friends in the Senate 
against Meagher, but they were foiled by the opportune arrival in Wash- 
ington of the old hero on whose reputation they traded. 

Shields made his appearance in the capital on the 5th of January, and 
his powerful influence with the Senate was promptly used in Meagher's 
favor. The officers of the Irish Biigade serenaded the veteran at his hotel, 
and presented him with an address. In his reply thereto, he confounded 
the scheming hypocrites who sought to create dissention between himself and 
Meagher — by making the following public statement: — 

• k I am very glad to meet, on this occasion, you, officers of the 'Irish 
Brigade,' and I wish to say a few words relative to myself and the Bri- 
gade. I was in the Western States of Mexico, endeavoring to recruit my 
shattered health, when I received intelligence of my appointment as General 
of the Irish Brigade. I at once replied to that communication — my answer 
is on file in the Department; — I did not decline the appointment, as my 
answer will show. I said my health was in a bad state — that I was not 



4 30 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

then fit for anything; but that I would report at Washington in person- 
As soon as possible I returned to California and took the first vessel lor 
the North. On my arrival in New York, I was waited on by various gen- 
tlemen friends of mine, and was sorry to find that there was a misunder- 
standing relative to General Meagher and myself. I told them, and I tell 
you now, that I have no better friend than Thomas Francis Meagher. He 
is a high-minded, honorable and brave man; and if I had any doubt of 
his fidelity and friendship for me — which I never had — that doubt would 
be removed by what the President said to me yesterday, when he informed 
me that it was at the request of Thomas Francis Meagher I was appointed 
Brigadier-General. 

'• I know General Meagher well. You did right in selecting him to 
command your Brigade; he is much better qualified for that position than 
three-fourths of the men who have been appointed to similar commands; 
he has the right stuff in him, and he will, bring it out at the right time. 
In honoring him you honor me, you honor yourselves. I again thank you 
for your kind attentions to me, and hope to have the "Irish Brigade," 
with its gallant Brigadier, at some future day in my division of the army." 

A few days later another deputation of the officers of the "Irish Bii- 
gade" waited on General Shields to thank him for the aid he had given 
towards securing the confirmation of General Meagher by his personal influ- 
ence with the United States Senate. On that occasion, Meagher, — address- 
ing hi? gallant and true-hearted old country man — said : — 

"General Shields, I have accompanied the officers of the 'Irish Brigade,' 
to thank you in person for your kind remembrance of me, in this gener- 
ous and unsolicited act. It was unexpected. I did not expect, after your 
public indorsement of me a few evenings ago, that you would again renew 
jour kindness towards me in so tmphatic a manner. Much as I appreci- 
ate your kindness on my own account, be assured I do so more for the 
sake of those gallant and brave gentlemen who have so unreservedly placed 
their confidence in me. I will only add that I trust we shall soon see an 
Irish Division, with you, sir, for its Major-General, — in which hope I know 
every officer and member of the 'Irish Brigade' most cordiadially joins." 

To these words, — so characteristic of the generous, impulsive nature 
of Meagher, General Shields replied as follows: — 

"What I have done was no more than my duty, —my duty to Gen. 
Meagher and the public. I know that he possesses all the qualities neces- 



MEAGHEM AND SHIELDS. 431 

aary to make a good General, and only wants the practice and opportunity 
to develop the powers I know him to possess. 

"When I was in the mountains of Mexico — forgotten by the Govern- 
ment — my friend, Meagher, did not forget me. He showed me that there 
was one kind, generous heart that still remembered an old friend. He ealled 
the attention of the President to me, and I was appointed to a high posi- 
tion in the army. 

"No one has dared, in my presence to oppose his qualification for the 
position of Brigadier-General ; I would not listen to them if they did. No 
matter how it might be attempted, they cannot estrange us; we love each 
other too well for that; we have to» many purposes in common which bind 
our hearts together. We look beyond this present dispute to a glorious future for 
another land, when the differences now existing here shall have been hap- 
pily ended. 

" I know that some little opposition has been attempted against Gene- 
ral Meagher's confirmation, and that it has been insinuated that he ought 
to give way to me. I, however, never desired it; it is not necessary. He 
is entitled to the position for which you have recommended him; and when 
you nominated him as your Brigadier-General you did right. I approv- 
ed of it the moment I heard it. You could not have done otherwise. You 
had not heard from me; you believed I had decliued it; and I am proud 
that you have placed him in the position you have. I would say to the 
'Irish Brigade' be sober, be obedient. Temperance is a vital necessity in 
the army. Let whiskey alone while the war lasts; and when victory crowns 
our efforts — as it assuredly will — we can all take a jorum together in true 
Irish style." 

"Turning to General Meagher, the glorious old veteran grasped him 
cordially by the hand, and continued: — 

"No, Meagher, they can never estrange you and me; we understand 
each other too well for that; and I trust the love of brothers will always 
exist between us. We, Irish, are a great race, capable of great deeds; but, 
unfortunately, in small matters, we are too apt to break up into little con- 
temptible cliques and factions. But, with all our faults, if left to ourselves, 
there is something noble and generous in us." 



432 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 



CHAPTER LXIV. 



MEAGHER COMMISSIONED BRIGADIER GENERAL. — ADDRESS TO 

HIS OFFICERS. — THE IRISH BRIGADE 

AT FAIR OAKS. 

"Prompt at the gathering summons, 

True as the lifted steel, 
Into the foremost phalanx, 

See where their columns wheel."— Encl. 

On February 3d, 1862, the United States Senate confirmed the nomina- 
tion of Thomas Francis Meagher as Brigadier-General. Five days after he 
received the following notification from the War Department: — 



Headquarters Army of the Potomac, ") 



Washington, February 8th, 1862 
" Special Orders 
No. 38. 

'•Brigadier-General Thomas F. Meagher, Volunteer Service, will report 
to Brig.-General Edwin V. Sumner, U. S. A., for assignment by him to the 
command of a Brigade of his Division. 

"By command of Major-General McClellan. 
"J. Williams, 

" Assistant Adjutant-General. 
" General Meagher." 

In compliance with the foregoing order, General Meagher reported in 
person at General Sumner's .Headquarters, Camp California, and, by the 
annexed order, was officially assigned to the- command of the "Irish Bri- 
gade : " mm 



C0M3IISSI0XED BRIGADIER GENERAL. 433 



"Headquarters Sumner's Division, 
Camp California, Feb. 11th, 



VISION, | 
1S62. J 
''•Special Orders, | 
No. 14. } 

'• Brigadier- Gen. Thomas F. Meagher, Volunteer Service, having reported 
to these Head Qrs. for assignment in accordance Special Order No. 38, Hd. 
Qrs. Army of the Potomac, Feb. 8th, 1862, is hereby assigned to the com- 
mand of the 2nd (Irish) Brigade of this Division. 

"By order ot Gen. Heintzelman. 
"1. W. Taylor, 

"Capt. U. S. A., 

"A. A. A. C." 

On General Meagher receiving his commission he rode out from Washing- 
ton to Camp California, and formally assumed command of the Irish Brigade. 
He was accompanied by General Shields and a brilliant array of military 
men, and by a number of civilian friends, all of whom rejoiced at his well- 
merited promotion. The occasion was celebrated in the camp with due 
honors. There was a grand review and dress parade of the Brigade. Gen- 
eral Shields was the reviewing officer, and addressed the Brigade in words 
of soldierly advice and patriotic import. After the review the officers of 
the Brigade gave a banquet to their beloved General and his friends. 

When the health of the "Chief of the Irish Brigade" was proposed, it 
was received with unbounded enthusiasm. In his response, General Meagher 
thanked his officers and men for this proof of their affection, after which 
he spoke as follows, on the duties and hopes, the aspirations and responsi- 
bilities attaching to his and their positions as Irish American soldiers: — 

"I shall say nothing of the final hazard upon which, in assuming the 
command of the 'Irish Brigade,' my own fortunes and name are irrevocably 
staked. Personal considerations, even of a nature so vital and an aspect so 
agitating, are subordinate to those which develop themselves from the obli- 
gation I acknowledge of the American nation and its cause, — to the Irish 
race and its military reputation, — and to this Brigade, its welfare and its 
honor. It is not, surely, ascribing an exaggerated importance, nor attaching 
fictitious liabilities to the command of the 'Irish Brigade,' when I assert 
that the interests and consequences to the American nation, so far as the 
conduct of three thousand armed men can affect them, — are involved in it, 
and that, so far, I am responsible. Nor is it less or more than the sheer 
truth to remind you that the military reputation of the Irish race is, in the 
23 



43i MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

opening story of this, your Brigade, equally involved. / The blundering or 
the wavering, — any conspicuous irregularity, — any want of steadiness or 
decision on the part of the Brigade, at some eventlul raomeut, would reflect 
discredit, ' and might entail disaster on the army of the American nation;)— 
and, in speaking of the American nation, it will be understood, as I know 
it will be codially approved, that I recognize no nation with that high 
tirle. whose shield and crest of sovereignty fail to exhibit the four-and- 
thirty stars which, in their expanding constellation have announced and 
typified its progress. In like manner, and with even yet a more fatal influ- 
ence, would such grave errors or violation of duty reflect upon and wound 
the quick pride, if it would not break the heart, of tne people, the Green 
Flag of whose proscribed, but promised ■nationality, we carry into this war, in 
honored and hopeful companionship with the l Stars and Stripes.' 

" Truthfully and inspiringly did my generous and chivalrous friend Gen- 
eral James Shields, the other day, observe that the honor of two nations 
was committed to the zealous custody and vindication of the ' Irish Brigade,' 
and that, whilst, in the blended flags of those two nations, the Brigade had 
a double incentive to distinguish itself, it had likewise a double obligation 
of which it should be ever watchful and eager to acquit itself. 

********* 

"As for the soldiers of the Brigade — the three thousand ready, sturdy 
hearty, fiery, headlong, fearless fellows, whose bayonets are to clear a way 
for the returning authority of the American Republic, — the familiar knowl- 
edge I have of their readiness to obey, their aptitude to learn, and their 
zeal in the execution of the more perilous duties of the service, — a knowl- 
edge gathered from my intercourse with them, day after day, in the recruit- 
ing offices and the fort where they were gradually mustered, — until they 
reached a force of three thousand men, — this knowledge also inspires me 
with confidence. 

u One promise, however, — despite all my natural misgivings as to my own 
qualifications for a high command, I do not hesitate to give. Strict attention 
to the condition and requirements of the Brigade, thorough devotion to its in- 
terests, and the liveliest solicitude at all times, for all that concerns its health, 
its happiness, its efficiency, and its good name ; — special care of the sick, 
and a determination that the humblest soldier shall have in me a protector 
whilst he has a superior, and a friend in whom he can trust whilst he has 
a chief to whom he must submit; — these, at all events, shall characterize 
my leadership of the Irish Brigade; and so far I can pledge myself to te 
serviceable to it. 



COMMISSIONED BBIGADIEB GENEBAL. 435 

"But another consideration, besides those I have mentioned, has affected 
me. In the presence of General Shields, — one to whom rightfully belongs the 
command of the Irish Brigade, —who, as an Irish soldier, — the first and most 
illustrious in the Eepublic, who has won his title to such a command, not 
only by the most conspicuous display of bravery, but by the acquisition of 
military history, military science, and what I may call the philosophy of 
great military movements, — studies in which his sagacious mind delights to 
indulge, — in the presence of such an Irishman I feel abashed in taking the 
position to which you, gentlemen, have insisted upou lifting me, and have 
done so with such a burst of exultation. 

" I am reconciled, however, to what might seem, on my part, to be, 
in his presence, a most ungracious and unjust assumption, by the conviction 
that a loltier and worthier position awaits him, and that I shall have the 
privilege and advantage of serving urder him, as a subordinate, in an Irish 
Division, of which he shall be the chief. In any case, I shall look to him 
constantly for advice, for instruction, for eucouragement; and whilst it shall 
be my ambition to imitate his endurance and intrepidity in the field, it shall 
be no less my ambition to emulate him in his love of work, his diligence, 
and the other less brilliant, but no less essential qualities which render a 
soldier's life a life of exemplary usefulness, and moral as well as intellec- 
tual improvement. Nor shall his generous friendship for me, manifested as 
it has been recently, in so prompt and decisive a manner, be ever forgot- 
ten by me. The recollection of it, whilst it teaches me that there is some 
sterling truthfulness still flowing in the midst of the falsehood and perfidy 
which have been the peculiar visitation of our confiding race, —will ani- 
mate me, — in scenes far different from that, in the light and joyfulness of 
which I now speak, — with the assurance that, if I but do my duty well, 
there will be one staunch friend, at least to do me justice. 



t; But whilst with these views discharging honestly and zealously our duty 
to the Government of the American Eepublic, there is for us, Irishmen, an 
animating thought. Foreign intervention, foreign rule, civil strife, sectarian 
conflicts, the sword of invaders, the torch and faggot of the religious perse- 
cutor, penal laws, periodical famines — to whatever scourge or plague it may 
be ascribed, the race which is represented here in arms this night has been 
stripped of all its functions and insignia as a sovereign element in the 
authentic transactions of the world. Politically considered, it is a subjugated, 
if it be not an obliterated race. In the higher achievements of genius, how- 
ever, in the arts that animate, improve, adorn, illuminate, and glorify the 



436 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

earth, its genius exhaustless and irrepressible — various and affluent as the 
rivers •which keep green forever the old land from which that race has 
sprung — underlying and lofty as the mountains that overlook that land 
from the clouds' which are so solemnly like to its brooding memories of 
its destiny in the past — this genius has made itself manfest in an illustri- 
ous line of master intellects. — whose wit, poetry, song, creative faculty or 
power of golden speech, not all the sorrows, nor all the humiliations, nor 
all the martyrdom of the Irish race could impair, much less suppress. 

" Great, indeed, has been the consolation which many a prostrate Irish- 
man, mournfully bent over the annals of his country has derived from the recog- 
nition with which everywhere throughout the informed and educated world, 
their intellectual triumphs have been encircled as with a zodiac of glory. 
But greater still has been his consolation and still more vehement has been 
his pride, when, looking abroad into other lands he has seen the Irish sol- 
dier maintaining, generation after generation the traditional and lyric splen- 
dor of his race — as a race of instinctive warriors, and on battlefields where 
the older dynasties have been crushed, or from which communities of a new 
and higher order have arisen, giving proof of that courage and enthusiasm 
which, more than laws, more than institutions, more than any system of 
domestic magistracy or foreign policy, however liberally and sagaciously 
devised, — or more than the spirit of commerce, however daring it may be, 
— is, after all, the true soul and defence of nations. 

"The reputation of the Irish soldier, achieved in the wars of France, 
of Austria, and of Spain, in days long gone by — transmitted to the New 
World, and there renewed and replenished in the struggles that gave birth 
to the Republics which disenthralled the Andes from the yoke of Spain, 
and which, at a still later day, proved itself fresh as ever, and bright as 
ever in the full blaze of that sun which blazed, fiercely as the death-deal- 
ing arrows of Apollo, upon the plains of Cerro Gordo, — the reputation of 
the Irish soldier thus made good and thus transmitted is now to be main- 
tained and still further to be perpetuated by the Irish Brigade, fighting 
for the honor, the integrity, the authority of the American Republic. 

"To the officers and men of the Irish Brigade this thought must be an 
inspiring one. 

"A soldier's life, in time of war, is, for the most part, a life of severe 
privation, hardship, self-subjection and self-denial. For the time being, he 
does no less than abdicate his freedom and renounce his home. In most 
cases his tastes, his pursuits, his very character undergo a stern change, 



COMMISSIONED BEIGADIEE-GENEBAL. 437 

and he accepts a yoke which, if borne with a soldier's spirit, will be light 
indeed, but otherwise is most burdensome and galling. A proud, high sense 
of duty, ever animating the soldier through the day, under every discom- 
fort and restraint, is tullicient of itself to invigorate and cheer him, and, 
in truth, will do so in every case where his heart is not incurably vicious 
or his mind brutified. Where: a just cause, an upright cause — the sustain- 
ment of the kindest and most eueouragiDg government that a people has ever 
had, and with that a territory and resources, and broad avenues opening 
up into positions the brightest and most easily accessible that man, the 
poor man especially, has ever had — where such a cause stimulates the sol- 
dier's sense of duty, it should be an easy task lor him to accept with 
cheerfulness all the requirements, rigorous though they may be, of a sol- 
dier's life. 

"More fortunate still is the Irish soldier in the army of the American Re- 
public. To this high, proud sense of duty — to this stimulating grandeur of a 
just and noble cause — he has superadded the incentives, which the conviction 
of what he owes to the military reputation of his race traditionally affords. 
/A splendid volume, imperishably recording the fidelity and bravery of the 
Irish soldier — the chapters of which, headed by such words as those of 
Cremona, Landen, Fontenoy, as you have this night wreathed in appropri- 
ate and suggestive evergreens on the walls of this pavilion, and to which 
should have been added those of Castlefidardo and Spoleto, were it not that 
the hand which recalled those older memories with such artistic grace bore 
an honorable weapon in those no less honorable transactions of a later date, 
— this splendid volume has come down to us, and it is for us to blacken 
its pages or add a new chapter, which, with its brilliancy, will render it 
an unblemished work. * 

"■ There is still another consideration — one which although it may have 
its root in the past has its promised blossoming in the future. This war 
which, like all other wars, brings with it its calamities and ruin, likewise 
brings wi h it its lessons of wisdom, of practical advantages — its improve- 
ment of individual character, its development of traits and virtues, which 
no other ever might perhaps evolve; and better still, it sows the seeds, it 
plants the laurels, which, —like those that "jew around trie grave of the 
young hero in Virgiliau song, — will germinate in weapons for the land which, 
in a communion of hope and martyrelom with Poland, with an immortal 
piety and zeal, in millions of hidden heart: pires, prays, pants and chafs 
for freedom. 



438 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER 

" Thanks be to God this war ha3 brought to us, Irishmen, a field and 
an opportunity for the acquirement of military knowledge — for the acquire- 
ment of that (..iscipline, that subordination, that self-abnegation, combined 
wih enthusiasm, that practiced and matured soldiership — which knowledge 
may yet fructify on the soil ot Ireland, and bring forth in inexhaustible 
abundance the harvest for which so many hands have toiled, so much sweat 
has been expended, so much blood has been poured out, and over which 
the kindly sunshine of heaven, through the perversity of man, has been 
till now dispensed in vain. 

"Let the truth be boldly told and boldly know n ! Whilst we, here, 
with all our hearts, devote ourselves to the maintenance and re-affirmation of 
the American Republic, in its legitimate plenitude, and whilst we are pre- 
pared to die in that great, just effort— all the greater that it is so just, to 
attain this end is the hope, the prayer, the inspiration of every officer aud 
soldier in the ranks of the Irish Brigade, — the hope, the prayer, the inspi- 
ration, that will nerve his arm as it could never otherwise be nerved, 
and precipitate him to victory, in the teeth of the most desperate odds; — 
it is the hope, the prayer, the inspiration that this Irish Brigade, here on 
the Southern bank of the Potomac, together with every other Irish soldier 
in arms for the American Republic, will be in the advance-guard one day, 
— and that not far distant, — the green flags and ringing trumpets of which 
will awaken the true soul of Ireland to the dawn of the Easter Sunday 
which has been so long promised, so faithlully awaited, and so fervtntly 
1^ rayed for. 



11 This, then, must be with every man of the Irish Brigade a thought 
which will have the power of a rapturous passion^ To-day it is for the 
American Republic we fight — to-morrow it will be for Ireland — creditably 
acquitting ourselves in this great struggle — advancing under orders from 
the General-in-Chief of the armies of the American Republic, heeding no other 
orders — blind to every newspaper, whater it may teach — deaf to every word 
that comes not to us through the regular military channels — ceasing to 
be politicians — utterly annihilating ourselves as such — determined to be sol- 
diers and to be nothing else, until the Stars and Stripes float over every 
inch of their legal domain — let us be true to our oaths which we have 
taken on entering the military service of the American Republic, and stand 
fast, push on or dash ahead as the order of the General-in-Chief commands 
us. Should we be ordered on — should we be ordered to plunge ourselves 
into the thickest of the most perate right, it will be my rapturous hap- 
piness to lead the Irish Biigs In such an event many are sure to fall. 



COMMISSIONED BllIGADIER GENERAL. 



'•Should I survive, and th* cause of the American Republic prove suc- 
cessiul, my soldiership shall not cease; for, having fulfilled my duty, — and 
a willing and proud one it will have been — I shall still have one more duty 
to perform, and that will be. for a second time, to risk my life in an 
effort to give to Ireland — that is, to all who are true to the traditional, 
the immemorial, the inextinguishable hopes and claims of Ireland as au 
original and ancient European nation — that which she has never voluntarily 
abdicated, and for which her resources, industrial, military and social, qual- 
ity her, in an eminent and abundant degree, whatever the emasculated purvey- 
ors and marrowless leeches, preying upon a chained and apparently exhausted 
or subject people may to the contrary assert. 

'•Sould I fall in this conflict, other men, better qualified in every res- 
pect, will survive me, and they will not descend into their graves until 
the effort I have spoken of shall be made. But failing in the conflict, if 
it be the will of God that it shall be so, I have one desire, that those who 
shall have been the witnesses of my fidelity to the Irish Brigade, in its 
origin, in the camp and in the field, shall write upon my gravestone, should 
such a stone be ever placed over me, and a nobler epitaph no Irishman — 
no < xiled Irishman like me — could more justifiably aspire to — 

'••Fighting for the honor and integrity of the Irish exile's happiest, 
proudest, and most prosperous home, Thomas Francis Meagher, an Irish 
exile, died at the head of the Irish Brigade.' 

"This is my last speech until the war is over; and I am perfectly wil- 
ling that they should be my dying words.'' 

The hope expressed by Meagher — of having the Irish Brigade constitute 
a portion of au Irish Division under General Shields. — was, however, frus- 
trated by the action of the narrow-minded politicians whose prejudices were 
stronger than their patriotism or sense of justice. 

On the 24th of February, a deputation of the officers of the Brigade, 
headed by General Meagher, waited on the Secretary of War, to express to 
the Administration, through him, the unanimous dtsire that the various 
Irish-American regiments scattered through the army, should be aggregated 
into a Division, to be placed under the command of General James shields, 
thus giving that gallant officer the rank of Major-General. The same tliiug 
had already been done with the German regiments, and Geneial Bleuker, 
who had left New York as Colonel of the 8th N. Y. V. (or " First Ger- 
man Rifles,") had been made Division General. But though the Secretary 
of War promised to represent the matter favorably to the President, no 
action was taken thereon; and, though General Shields, subsequently ob- 



4-10 • ME3IOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

tained command of a Division — (and proved -his ability by his defeat of 
Stonewall Jackson at Winchester — the only defeat that gallant Confederate 
officer ever sustained.) — yet it was not a Division composed exclusively of 
Irishmen — as his countrymen desired. 

But \t* appears that it was not in accordance with the views of certain 
officials that the Irish element in the army should be rendered too con- 
spicuous, — for, when General Meagher requested to have the 37th N. Y. 
Volunteers — ("Irish Bides,'") — assigned to his command, he was refused, 
and he got instead the 29th Mass. — (which, however, was subsequently 
replaced by the 2Sth Mass. — a thoroughly Irish organization). 

Marching and Counter-Marching. 

On the 15th of March, 1S62, General McClellan issued an " Order of 
the Day " to the Army of the Potomac, announcing that — " the time for 
action had at length arrived." General Meagher read the order for the 
Irish Brigade on the same day. It evoked the wildest enthusiasm. On the 
next day, the Brigade, with the 69th in the van, left their bivouac on the 
hills above Union Mills, and took the road to Fairfax Court House. The 
road was crossed by a stream called Pope's Head, which the rains of the 
preceding days had swollen into a torrent. A rude bridge had been 
thrown over it by a detail from the Brigade under command of Major Cav- 
anagh, and the men were thus enabled to cross in comparative comfort, 
while General Meagher and the mounted officers forded the stream on 
horseback. 

Writing of this march — Captain Turner — the chronicler of the Brigade, 
thus refers to the gallant leader of the left wing of the 69th:— 

"In front you observe, if you have eyes, the sturdy, high-minded, thor- 
ough and complete soldier, Major Cavanagh — one of the best of men,' and 
one of the most reliable soldiers of the Irish Brigade. If ever the "Old 
Land " needs a soldier, or the new a sacrifice and a leader, neither can 
find, I give you my word, a man of nobler mind or more soldierly instincts 
and intuitions. Only that I have heard the utterance in private, and where 
one should never repeat, either in print or speech, the words of comrade or 
companion, I could tell you how often in private and in solitude, I have 
heard a real old Irish Nationalist say : ' Would it were upon the mountains 
or the plains of Ireland we were marching, and that those were the Eng- 
lish watch-fires yonder.'" 

Prom Fairfax Court House the Brigade took the road to Centreville to 



THE 7 3D AT WILLIAMSBURG. 441 

reinforce General French at Manassas, against whom the Confederates were 
making some demonstrations. On the morning of St. Patrick's day, the 
Brigade crossed Bull Bun — bekg the second time that many of those in 
its ranks had passed that now historic stream. The 8Sth Begiment was 
assigned the duty of guarding the bridge. Here they were posted for the 
ensuing week. 

On the 25th of March General Sumner's Corps — to which the Irish 
Brigade was attached, was moved to Warrenton, on the Orange and Alex- 
andria Eailroad; but they were not long there when an order came to the 
Irish Brigade to return to Camp California, preparatory to embarking for 
Fortress Monroe. For the army, in obedience to orders from Washington, 
was about to be transferred to the Peninsula. 

From Camp California the Brigade marched to' Alexandria, where they 
embarked for Fortress Monroe. They were landed at Ship Point, from whence 
they proceeded to Camp Wiufield Scott, in front of Yorktown, which was 
held by the Confederates and strongly fortified. On the 4th of May, Gen- 
eral McClellan succeeded in forcing the enemy to abandon Yorktown, and 
fall back upon their next line of defence at Williamsburg, where they were 
again defeated in a hotly contested battle on the 5th, and compelled to fall 
back towards Bichmond. 

During the progress of the battle reinforcements were called for, and 
the Irish Brigade started from Yorktown at nightfall, in a teeming rain, 
and on a road covered with mud so deep and tenacious that the batteries 
of artillery in advance got stuck in the ruts every five minutes. Owing 
to these repeated delays but slow progress was made, and at 2 o'clock, A. 
M., the Brigade received orders to halt and bivouac in a wood, and there 
they remained for the rest of the night. Next morning tney learned the 
result of the battle, and in the evening, were again on the march towards 
Yorktown, without having an opportunity of exchanging a shot with the 
enemy. 

The 37th N. Y. V. ("Irish Bifles,") at "Williamsburg. 

But though the men of the Irish Brigade were denied the privilege of 
participating in the opening 'battle of the campaign — the old race was nobly 
represented thereat by their brothers of the 37th (Irish Bifles,) as "will be 
seen by the following extracts from the report of Colonel Hayman, com- 
manding that regiment: — 

"Headquarters- 37th N. Y. Volunteers, 
Camp at Williamsburg, Va., May 6, 1862. 
" Captain : In obedience to a circular from brigade headquartes of thi3 



442 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

date, I have the honor to submit the following report of the part per- 
formed by my regiment in the action of yesterday : 

" After a fatiguing march through mud and rain from camp near York- 
town the regiment reached the place of engagement, located in heavy tim- 
ber and undergrowth, near Williamsburg, about 3 o'clock, p. M. It was 
placed in position on the left of the Fifth Michigan, parallel to the sup- 
posed line of the enemy, and Company B, Capt. James T. Maguire, was 
deployed as skirmishers nearly perpendicular to my line, to protect my left 
flank. An almost continuous fire was soon opened upon the regiment by a 
concealed foe, which lasted about an hour, and which was returned 'with spirit 
for some time, when I ordered the fire to cease until the enemy could be 
seen, to avoid an unnecessary loss of ammunition. 

"A scout was now sent to my front to observe the enemy, which soon 
returned and reported him moviDg to my left. This seemed to be confirmed 
by his fire, which was delivered in front and on my left. The whole regi- 
ment was now moved some distance to the left, and six companies deployed 
in extended order in a line, making something less than a right angle with 
my original line, as it was upon these six companies that the enemy exerted 
his greatest efforts, and they compelled him to abandon his design in that 
direction and retire entirely from the woods after a contest of probably an 
hour's duration. The companies on the right accomplished a like result in 
reference to the enemy in front. The enemy carried most of his wounded 
with him, but a considerable number of his dead and some wounded were 
left, and three different parties seeking for the dead were captured by my 
pickets during the night. 

" After the enemy had retired eight companies of my regiment were de- 
ployed as skirmishers, extending from my original right to the left as far 
as the plain in front of Williamsburg. The other two companies were de- 
tached by order of Brigadier-General Berry — one to man, the other to defend 
the battery. Xo sign of the enemy was discovered by the pickets during 
the night, except small details looking for his dead. 

"The conduct of all my officers I consider worthy of commendation. 

********* 

" It is but just to say that the courage of the officers of the six left 
companies were most severely tested, and on that account their commanders 
are worthy of special notice. They were commanded by Capts. James T. 
Maguire, Clarke, De Lacy, O'Beirne,* and Diegnan, and First Lieutenant 

*Now, General James R. O'B'ime of New York, than whom, as a gallant soldier and 
thorough-going Iris-h patriot, no better or braver representative of his race exists— on 
either side of the Atlantic. 



THE BATTLE OF FAIR OAKS. 448 

Hayes. I also deem worthy of notice First Sergt. Lawrence Murphy, Com- 
pany K, and First Serge. Martin Cunboy, Company B. 

'•The conduct of the enlisted men of the regiment is deserving of the 
greatest praise, and without individual courage, under the circumstances of 
the engagement, but little could have been accomplished, and it is therefore 
to this circumstance I attribute in a great measure the success of my com- 
mand. 

********* 

" I would also commend to the special consideration of the general com- 
manding the following men, who, after being severely wounded, captured a 
number of prisoners : Company C, Corpl. Patrick Kiggan, Corpl. James 
Boyle, and Private Charles O'Brien ; Company F, Private Henry Brady. 

" The regiment has to deplore the loss of two of its most valuable 
officers, First Lieuts. Pat. H. Hayes and Jeremiah O'Leary,* who were ki)ed 
whilst gallantly leading their men in the most destructive fire of the enemy. 
The colonel commanding feels in the loss of these officers, and the brave 
men who fell with them, the great sacrifice incurrred in the success of the 
regiment. 

"Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"S. B. Hayman, 
•' Colonel, Commanding Thirty seventh New York Volunteers." 

The Battle op Fair Oaks. 

From Yorktown the Irish Brigade advanced to the Chickahominy, on 
the banks of which they encamped for a fortnight in comparative inactivity. 
To vary this monotonous life, they improvised a series of steeple-chases, in 
which Captains Gosson and Cavanagh were the most successful competitors. 
On Saturday evening. May 31st, just as one of those races was finished, 
the deep boom of artillery was heard coming from the woods bordering 
both siues of the Chicahominy. This was quickly followed by the faint 



♦Lieutenants Patrick H. Hayes and Jeremiah O'Leary — the only officers of the "Irish 
Eifles" killed at Williamsburg — were, previous to the war, two of the most zeaious and 
efficient officers of the Pbce ix Brigade, the former being First Lieutenant of Company 
A, ( Capt. Welpley's Company), and the latter Captain of Company C. They sleep 
together on the field where they fell. Their faithful Fenian Brothers dug their grave »t 
the foot of an oak tree, and laid them, tenderly and lovingly, side by side, their arms 
twined around each other's neck — covered them with the greenest of shamrocked sods, 
and, with fervent prayers for their soul's repose — lelt them to await a happy resurrection 



444 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHEB. 

but continuous rattle of musketry, a sure sign that a hard fight was in 
progress on the opposite side of the river. 

That was the battle of the Seven Pines, in which the Union forces 
under General Casey contended ineffectually against the Confederates led by 
General Joe Johnson. 

The Chickahominy was flooded, and the bridge carried away; but, by 
hard work, it was replaced before morning, and the greater part of General 
Sumner's Division were across the river, and hurried to the front. 

During the latter part of the night the Irish Brigade bivouaced in the 
woods, and woke up at dawn to find themselves within pistol-shot of the 
enemy, who, no doubt, shared in their astonishment at the unexpected ren- 
contre— coming as it did without the least warning. From General Meagher's 
• lucid description of the situation, and of the battle which ensued, I select 
the following passages : — 

" The Pamunkey and Richmond railroad ran within five hundred paces 
of the Brigade line, and almost parallel to it. Two miles to the rear, was 
the Chickahominy. Richardson's Division, of which mine was the Second 
Brigade, occupied in two lines a wide corn-field, the crop on which had 
been thoroughly trampled out of sight, nothing in the way of vegetation 
remaining above the soaked and trodden surface but the blackened stumps 
of the pines that formerly covered it. To the right were tall, beautiful, 
noble woods; to the extreme left, the same. Between the left of our line 
and the railroad was a smaller wood. On the other side of the railroad 
was a long thick belt of handsome trees — full of glittering and rustling 
leaves — the beams of the dawning sun veiling them with transparent gold 
— not a breath of wind wakening them from their grand repose. This superb 
belt, however, concealed an ugly swamp, and the perplexing and almost im- 
pervious undergrowth with which it was interwoven. Richmond was but 
four miles distant from the colors of the Sixty-ninth New York Volunteers, 
the right of the Brigade. One of the pioneers of the regiment — formerly 
a sailor — an immense, shaggy, iron-built fellow, with a tanned skiu and a 
tempestous eye, agile and daring as a tiger — darling up a towering pine 
close to the railroad, saw the dome of the Capitol flashing through the 
smoke of the city, the church-spires, and shining fragments of the bridges 
over the James River. 

" The object of the enemy was to drive us from the railroad, back to 
the Chickahominy, and into it if possible. They had surprised General Casey 
the day before, on the other side of the railroad, and had nearly cut his 



THE BATTLE OF FAIB OAKS. Uo 

Division to pieces. Sedgwick, however, coming up rapidly on the right, and 
Kearney on the left, the enemy were promptly checked, and fell back for 
the night. At daybreak he resumed the attack. 

" A few minutes after the volley I have mentioned, Howard's Brigade had 
crossed the railroad, and were blazing away at a Brigade of Georgians in 
that magnificent forest in front of us, forcing and tearing their way through 
the underbrush, through the swamp, over fallen trees and mangled bodies, 
in the full blaze of a blinding fire. French's Brigade followed. Our turn 
came next. 

"The Sixtv-ninth swept down to the railroad, and reaching it, deployed 
into line of battle on the track. This they did under a hurricane of bullets. 
One ; in line, however, they paid back the compliments of the morning with 
the characteristic alacrity and heartiness of a genuine Irish acknowledgment. 
The exchange of , fervent salutations was kept up for jui hour. The chiv- 
alry of Virginia met its match in the chivalry of Tipperary. 

"In the meantime, the Eightjr-eighth New- York, piercing the small wood 
which, as I have said, lay between the railroad and the left of the Brigade, 
debouched from it into a pretty deep cutting of the road, in which the 
regiment threw itself into line of battle, as the 69th had done a little higher 
up, and got to work with a dazzling celerity. In front of the cutting was 
an open space, some ten or twelve acres in extent, forming: a half-circle. 
A rail fence ran across it, a hundred paces from the railroad. Here and 
there, behind the ftnee, were clumps of shrubbery and wild blackberry 
bushes. The whole was girt by a cincture of dark pin c s, closely set together, 
in the limbs of which, hidden by the leaves and shadows of the trees, were 
swarms of sharp-shooters; whilst the wood itself, and the clumps and bushes 
were alive with Rebels. Climbing the embankment of the cutting, so as to 
enable them to rest their muskets and plane their colors on top of it, the 
Eighty-eighth threw their first fire in one broad sheet of lightning into the 
fence and wood. From both fence and wood came, an instant after, a 
scorching whirlwind, tearing and ploughing up the grass and corn-stalks in 
the open space, and ripping the colors, as it made them flap and beat 
against the flag staffs. 

Close to where the colors were planted stood a log-built cottage — the 
property of a lethargic German with pink eyes and yellow hair — and two 
or three auxiliary structures devoted to pigs, chickens, and bees. These 
served as an excellent cover for a company of the Eighty-eighth, detailed 
for special practice against the sharp-shooters. 



446 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

" On the opposite embankment there stood a very dingy and battered 
little barn, abounding in fleas and mice, and superabundantly carpeted with 
damp hay. This was appropriated as the hospital of the regiment. The red 
flag was displayed from the roof, and in a few minutes it was the scene 
of much suffering, tenderness, devotion, thought and love of home, heroic 
resignation, and calm bravery under the inexorable hand of death. There, 
indeed, were to be seen in many instances the sweetness, the cheerfulness, 
the strength, the grandeur of character which proved the fidelity of the 
private soldier to his cause, the disinterestedness with which he had pledged 
himself to it, the consciousness of his having done well in the face of dan- 
ger, and leaving to his home and comrades a memory which would brighten 
the sadness of those who knew, loved, and honored him. 

"There was to be seen the good, kind, gentle priest of the old and 
eternal Faith calming the levered brain with words which at such moments 
express the divinest melody, and gladdening the drooping eye with visions 
that transform the bed of torture into one of flowers, and the cloud of 
death into a home of splendor. 

"Driven back on the right by Sedgwick — on the centre by Eichardson — on 
the left by Kearney — baffled, broken, routed at all three points at one aud 
the same time — at noon that day the Rebel forces were pursued by Hooktr. 
Had he been permitted he would have followed them to Richmond. Kear- 
ney was mad for the pursuit — so was Sumner — so were French and Sedg- 
wick — so was every one of our officers and soldiers. It was the instinct 
and passion of the entire army. 

"'Now that we've got them on the run' — as a Sergeant of the Eighty- 
eighth knowingly observed — 'the thing is to keep them running,' 

"It would have been the telling game to play. Followed up briskly and 
with determination, the enemy would not have faced about this side of 
Richmond. As it was his retreat could hardly have been more fearfully disor- 
dered. Thousands of muskets were flung away— cartridge-boxes, blankets, every- 
thing that ever so slightly checked or slackened the rapidity of that wild 
flight — for it was nothing short of that — were torn off, dropped on the 
road, or whirled impatiently into the woods." 

[Captain Field, of the U. S. Artillery, gives this graphic account of the 
battle, and of the part played by the Inch Brigade in their first general 
engagement: — 

"We could follow the fluctuating fortunes of the day by the way the 
fire advanced and retired, accompanied by the solid cheers of our men and 



THE BATTLE OF FAIR OAKS. 



the sharp continuous yell of the enemy. Presently the fire came nearer, 
with an increased crash on the other side and a perceptible slackening on 
ours. In a few minutes stragglers and wounded men began to emerge from 
the timber. The first brigade of our division was being driven in. General 
Sumner sent in the next brigade, Howard's, and with this fresh force the 
fire again resumed its full volume, reaching the climax of the battle. 

"A nearer approach of the fire, another lull in our direction and wild 
yells, meant a second repulse, and now we saw General Sumner ride up to 
the Irish Brigade, but a bare quarter of a mile off" on our right front. We 
saw his hat off and his gray locks bared as he evidently made a short 
speech, probably the only one of the old hero's life. We learned afterwards 
that he told them that they were his last hope; if they failed him all was 
lost, 'but,' said he, 'I'll go my stars on you,' pointing to his shoulder- 
straps. ' 1 want to see how Irishmen fight, and when you run I'll run 
too.' 

"A hearty cheer greeted his last words, and the brigade moved into the 
woods with the air of men who were going to stay. A fresh crash showed 
when they struck the enemy. For a few minutes the fire was deafening, 
then it began to retire The yells gave way to long continuous cheers, an 
aid galloped up to order a section of artillery to follow our advancing line, 
and the battle of Fair Oaks was won. 

" It was an inspiriting opening of a heroic history, and from that day 
General Sumner swore by the Irish Brigade. 

"During the latter part of the action, an officer dashed up to General 
Sumner — wearing a cap heavily laced with gold, jacket similarly ornamented, 
with long grizzled moustache curled up to his eyes. He saluted and gave 
a report of the close of the action. 

" General Sumner said, ' That was a gallant charge of your brigade, 
Captain Gosson.' 

'•'Begad, sir,' said Jack, raising his cap, 'we gave them a healtny 
dash.' "] 




4*8 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



CHAPTER LX V. 



FROM FAIR OAKS TO MALVERN HILL. — MEAGHER IN 
NEW YORK. 



•' I'll fight you every day you rise." 

The Etthick Shepheed. 



During the three weeks succeeding the battle of Fair Oaks, the Irish 
Brigade was engaged in the onerous duty of guarding the front of the 
Union entrenchments. An idea of the work they performed and the hard- 
ships it entailed may be formed from the following e-xtract from Capt. Tur- 
r>» r 's correspondence. 

"Camp Near Richmond, June 22, 1S62. 

"The Irish Brigade have just completed the severest round of picket 
duty ever performed by the same number of men. In fact, for eight whole 
days they have kept the front, until the men became so worn out that 
they could hardly keep awake in the ranks from fatigue and want of rest. 
Caldwell's brigade are now in our front. 

"During the action of the 19th the enemy made a desperate attack 
on our pickets, shelling the position for some time from the woods beyoudj 
and following this up by throwing out a force to reconnoitre. Company I, 
of the 63d, under command of Captain John Kavanagh and Lieut. William 
F. Meehan, were in advance, and gallantly maintained their ground. The 
enemy poured a hot fire of musketry on them, but not a man flinched, 
while the ready aim and coolness with which they gave their - urn volleys 
soon made their opponents retreat. None of the 63d wen urt. Major 
Cavanagh was in command of the pickets, and his report the affair so 

pleased General Meagher that he issued the annexed comp ntary order: 



FAIR OAKS TO MALVERN HILL. 



'Headquarters Meagher's Brigade, "} 
Fair Oaks, Va., June 22, 18G2. ) 

1 Capt. John Kavanagh, 63d Regt , N. Y. V. 

'Captain, — I am directed by the Brigadier-General commanding this 
Brigade to congratulate you on the coolness and steadiness shown by yourself 
and the officers and soldiers under your command, during the attack on our 
pickets on the afternoon of June 19, 1862. The Brigadier-General takes this 
method of thanking you for the gallantry and patriotism which animated those 
under your command, that he might express in a formal manner how much 
gratified he feels at the bravery and courage displayed by any portion of 
the Brigade which he has the honor to command. 

'The motive for this congratulation was the conduct of your company, 
as reported by Major Cavanagh, field officer of that day. 
'I am, Captain, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

'Joseph S. McCoy, Ass. Adj.-Gen.' 

"A similar order was is=ued respecting Capt. Leddy's Company of the 
69th, which also exhibited great bravery on the occasion. " 

Strong reinforcements having reached General Lee's army at Richmond, 
it became evident to General McClellan that he had not soldiers enough to 
fight the enemy in front and to maintain the base of his supplies on the 
Pamunkey River, and guard his connection with it by railroad. Accordingly, 
he determined to effect a change of base to James River, — where he could 
receive his supplies directly by water. 

This retreat across the Peninsula, in the face of an enemy superior in 
numbers, involved great risk, and resulted in a series of desperate battles 
lasting continuously for a week, but it was eventually accomplished, though 
at a great sacrifice of men and war material to the Union army. 

As, during the retreat, the Irish Brigade constituted a portion of the 
rear of the army, it had its full share in repulsing the attacks of the per- 
severing enemy. 

In the first of those great battles — that of Gaine's Mill, fought on the 
27th of June, the timely reinforcement of French's and Meagher's brigades 
saved Porter's overmatched forces from an overwhelming disaster — for it 
wa;, only by a determined bayonet-charge of a company of the 69th that the 
stream of fugitives pouring towards the bridge of the Chickahominy was check- 



450 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

ed, and a rally made behind their rescuers — whose ringing cheers — as they 
dashed into the woods darkening in the evening gloom, — checked the advance 
of the exultant foe; and so, without having tired a shot, those gallant twin 
brigades gave Porter's forces an opportunity of crossing the river and 
rejoining the main body of the army under cover of night — the Irish 
Brigade guarding the approaches to the bridge until all had passed over 
in salety— when the structure was destroyed before the baffled enemy could 
muster resolution to renew the attack which was so suddenly checked by 
the cheers they learned to know so well at Fair Oaks.* 

It is not necessary to enter into details of the action of the Brigade 
in the subsequent battles of that eventful week — "Savage Station," "Peach 
Orchard," "White Oak Swamp," and "Malvern Hill." There is, however, 
one characteristic episode related of the last-named engagement which I can- 
not refrain lrom reciting here. Captain Field, (then serving with "Pettit's 
Battery" — the artillery attached to the Irish Brigade,) is the narrator. 

4 Regimental Duel. 

"An interesting epi-ode in the history of the Brigade was the encoun- 
ter at Malvern Hill, in the dusk of the evening, between the Eighty-eighth 
Regiment and the well-known 'Louisiana Tigers' — as a battalion from 
Hew Orleans, commanded by the famous Colonel "Wheat, was called. They 
were the desperadoes of the Southern service, and, meeting the Irishmen 



•General McClfllan, in his report of this battle, thus refers to the action of French's 
and Meagher's brigades. 

"About 5 P. M. General Porter having reported his position as critical, French's and 
Meagher's brigades, of Richardson's division (Second Corps,) were ordered to cross to his 
support. The enemy attacked again in great force at 6 r. M., but failed to break our 
liu^s, though our loss was very heavy. 

"About 7 P. M., they threw fresh troops against General Porter with still greater fury, 
and finally gained the woods held by our leit. This reverse, aided by the confusion that 
iollowed an unsuccessful charge of five companies of the Filth Cavalry, and followed as 
it was by more determined assaults on the remainder of our lines, now outflanked, causLd 
a general retreat from our position to the hill in rear, overlooking the bridge. 

"French's and Meagher's brigades now appeared, driving before them the stragglers 
who were thronging toward the bridge. These brigades advanced boldly to the front, and 
by their example, as well as by the seadiness of their bearing, reanimated our own troops 
and warned the enemy that re-enforcements hai arrived. It was now dusk- The enemy, 
atxady repulsed several times with terrible slaughter, and hearing the shouts of the iresh 
troops, failed to follow up their advantage." 



A BEGIMENTAL DUEL. 451 

unexpectedly at close quarters, fought with their knives and pistols. The 
Irishmen, ignoring their bayonets, which they had not time to fix, elubbed 
their muskets, and so in the dark and thick timber the savage grapple went 
on. In the thickest of the melee, a gigantic member of the Eighty-eighth 
spied a mounted officer cheering on the Tigers. Striding up to him, he 
grasped him with his enormous hand, and with the exclamation, 'come out 
o' that, you spalpeen ! ' fairly dragged him from his horse and captured 
him. 

"An incident connected with this encounter fastened the brigade to 
General Sumner with hooks of steel. On the prolonged Seven Days' Retreat, 
some muskets were of course lost and thrown away, but astonishingly few, 
all things considered. Every case that came to General Sumner's notice 
angered him beyond bounds. When one morning an officer of the Eighty- 
eighth came to him with a requisition for quite a number of muskets, 
Sumner broke out violently, denounced bitterly men who would lose or aban- 
don their arms, and ended by saying, 'You shall not have those muskets, 
sir, I'll take them all away from you and make your men dig trenches 
Such men are not fit to carry arms.' 

" The officer listened calmly to this tirade and then said, ' You're mis- 
taken there, General. We've not lost them nor thrown them away.' 

'"Where are they, then?' said Sumner. 

'Outside, sir. I thought maybe you'd be wanting to see them.'" 

The General went out, and found a pile of muskets with cracked and 
splintered stocks, bent barrels and twisted bayonets. 

"'How is this?' said he. 

"'It's the Eighty-eighth, sir,' said the officer. 'The boys got in a 
scrimmage with the Tigers, and when the bloody villains took to their 
knives, the boys mostly forgot their bayonets, but went to work in the 
style they weie used to, and licked them well, sir.' 

" As Sumner gazed on these speaking witnesses of desperate pluck his 
rugged face softened, and, generous as he was hasty, he said a few words 
which warmed the hearts of every Irishman in the army that heard of them. 
From that time we used to say that the General thought he could whip 
Lee's army with the Irish Brigade and Pettit's Battery." 

Incidents of General Meagher's Visit to New York. 

While the Army of the Potomac lay encamped at Harrison's Landing, 
enjoying a temporary rest after their seven days and nights' alternate march- 



452 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS ME AG II EB. 

iug and fighting, General Meagher was given a brief leave of absence for 
the purpose of proceeding to New York to make arrangements for recruit- 
ing the depleted ranks of the brigade. 

At that time the enthusiasm — which actuated the masses of the loyal 
States at the outbreak of the war — was perceptibly abated, and it required 
extraordinary efforts to obtain recruits, of the class required for the Irish 
Brigade, more especially as Meagher's personal and political enemies insidi- 
ously circulated the report that " extra risk was to be encountered in his 
command — it being notorious that the Irish Brigade was assigned more than 
the average share of the hard fighting." 

They, moreover, — openly or covertly — as it suited their purpose — either 
boldly asserted or left it to be inferred, that Meagher's desire for personal 
distinction was responsible for this exposure of his followers — for — uuscru- 
pulously mendacious as they were — '..hey never ventured to deny that they 
were his followers in every instance where danger was to be encountered. 

As it happened, there was just enough of foundation for the general asser- 
tion to base the lying personal charge upon, and the fJends of Meigher 
and the cause he advocated found it difficult to counteract Qe effects of 
the calumniators' treachery. They set themselves ncWy to feo tas!s, how- 
ever, and in many instances were nobly assisted by their f :llow-c : tizens 
without; distinction of race, creed, or place of birth. A few instances of 
individual liberality, taken from the New York papers of the time, are 
worth recording here. 

The members of the New York Corn Exchange, by personal subscrip- 
tion, raised a fund sufficient to pay — in addition to the Federal, State, and 
City bounties, the sum of $10 each to the first 300 men who joined the 
Irish Brigade. 

In the same patriotic spirit the firm of Austin Kelley & Co., sent the 

following letter to the Colonel of trie 69th, and nobly fulfilled the obliga- 
tions therein assumed: 

" Office of Austin Kelley & Co.. 2S Canal St., "i 
New York, August, 13, 1S62. j 
" Col. Nugent, 69th Begt , Irish Brigade. 

"Dear Sir, — Anxious to see the present rebelion terminated as speedily 
-as possible, and at the same time being fully cognizant that there is but 
one way to do so — that is by active and immediate enlistments — the mus- 
tering of thousands under the old flag — we hereby offer, in addition to 



MEAGHER IN NEW YOIIK. 



the Government, State, and other bounties, ten dollars to each of the first fifty- 
recruits of the Irish Brigade : and feeling that those dependent on the men 
who volunteer in a cause so glorious should not be left wanting, we further 
agree to furnish constant employment during the war to the wives and 
daughters of such men, if desired. 

" Sincerely yours, 

"Austin Kelley & Co." 

In the paper from which the above letter was taken, I find the annexed 
interesting account of an occurrence which transpired on Broadway, in frout 
of the Irish Brigade headquarters: 

"On Friday, of last week our old friend, Mr. John Hennessy, who is one 
of the most earnest workers on behalf of the Brigade, was addressing a num- 
ber of persons outside the Headquarters on the duty of every citizen to defend 
the Union in its hour of danger, when Mr. Isaac Selligman, of the firm of 
Selligman & Stettheimer, 334 Broadway, stepped forward and said: "Sir, I 
admire the manner in which you advocate the cause of America. I admire 
your glorious Irish Brigade, and its heroic conduct before the enemy. I 
will, therefore, offer twenty dollars to the first two young men that will 
join you.'' This announcement was enthusiastically cheered, and two young 
men named Robert Davidson and John Maloney instantly stepped up and 
offered themselves as recruits. j At this moment, ex-Mayor Tieman arrived 
on the scene and applauded Mr. Hennessey for his efforts. "Go on," said 
he, "Mr. Hennessey, and believe me, I will assist you to the utmost of my 
ability and interest." (Mr. Selligman here came forward a second time, and 
gave twenty dollars more for the next two men who should volunteer. 
Four men named "William Burrisson, Michael Brannagan, John Nugent and 
Francis Connolly stepped forward and were accepted. In one hour the 
entire six had passed the medical inspection and were mustered into the ser- 
vice. ( Mr. Selligman was so delighted with the result of his liberal donation 
to the Brigade, that the next day he and his brother waited on Mr. Hen- 
nessey and presented him with $100 to be given to the next ten recruits." 

[John Hennessey was at that time and for many years previously one 
of the representative men of his race in New York. None of his fellow 
countrymen were more universally known personally or more esteemed for 
his sturdy independence of character and his demonstrative patriotism. His 
towering stature made him conspicuous in every assemblage convened in the 
interest of Ireland, and his heart was proportionally large; his spirit was 
as fiery and as quick to resent an insult to his country or her friends, as 



454 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

his brawny fist or the formidable souvenir of his native Kilkenny woods, 
which it usually carried out of doors, was to impress the offender with a 
salutary sense of his rashness in venting his anti-Irish spleen while " Big 
John Hennessy" was around. Like all genuine Irishmen, he was enthusi- 
astically proud of Thomas Francis Meagher, and from the arrival of the 
latter in America, he was among the warmest and most esteemed of his 
personal friends. As stated in a previous portion of this work, the Irish 
patriot's advent in this country was followed by a series of scurrilous 
attacks in the British papers and their anti-Irish satellites in America. 
Foremost among the subsidized scribblers engaged in this dirty work was an 
English adventurer, who masqueraded under the self-assumed title of " Count 
Johannes." The blackguard's insignificance protected him, for the time 
being, from the consequences which his malevolence richly merited. But 
he was not destined to go unpunished forever. Years afterwards, in an 
unlucky hour, his evil genius led him to John Hennessy's house on some 
business or other. He was personally unknown to Mr. Hennessy; but no 
sooner did he reveal his identity to the stalwart John than the irate Graig- 
namana man thundered out : " So you're the scoundrel who villified Thomas 
Francis Meagher!" and without giving the dumb-founded culprit time to 
stammer forth a denial or excuse, he incontinently ran him to the open 
door, and by a vigorous and scientific application of his ponderous foot 
propelled him from the top of the high stoop to receive a repetition of the 
galvanic shock from contact with the curbstone, and there left him to sigh 
involuntarily. — "Oh! what a fall was there!" 

As soon afterwards as the graceless " Count" was able to limp around 
on crutches, he had the assailant of his doubly-injured honor summoned 
before the Police Court, where he dramatically recited his serio-comic story 
to the infinite amusement of his unsympathetic audience, who, when " His 
Honor" dismissed the case with a caution to the plaintiff to beware how he 
repeated his offence, passed a unanimous verdict of: "Served him right !"] 

Up to this time I had not seen General Meagher, since our parting on 
the pier nearly ten mouths previouslv, on the day of my departure for 
Ireland. I had been back in New York about three months, when one 
morning, while in the office of the Fenian Brotherhood, 6 Centre street, I 
was surprised and delighted by the entrance of "Frank Murray," one of 
my old comrades of the " Pi cenix Zouaves," who had gone into active ser 
vice with the Irish Brigade, by way of advancing his military education. 

Frank was a tall, handsome, and athletic young fellow, and when Co v0 



MEAGHER IN NEW YORK 455 

onel Nugent offered him the position of Sergeant-Major in the 69th — he 
accepted it — conditional on his g'tting the consent of his Company. On 
his stating the case to his comrades one of them sug< es ed that if he was 
to go with the regiment, he had better take the position of First-Sergeant 
iu one of the companies, inasmuch as he was well fitted for that, while 
his inexperience in battallion movements hardly qualified him for the one 
proffered him. 

His answer was unanswerable : — 

"That's their look-out — not mine: for, be jabers ! if they offered to 
make me a Major-General instead of a Sergeant-Major — I'd accept." 

Of course after that, there was no further impediments thrown in the 
way of such an aspiring genius. He got carte blanche to follow the bent 
of his laudable ambition. 

Well, in my brave Frank's first fight — " Fair Oaks " — he got a ball 
through the thigh, and was laid up in hospital (in Philadelphia, I think,) 
for over two months. When he was able to walk around with the help of 
a stick, he felt an irrepressible longing to see his friends and comrades in 
New York and applied to the Surgeon in charge for a "furlough," but 
was refused. He then took the responsibility of going without leave, and 
— " here he was." 

In reciting his story he unbuttoned his coat and showed me the gold- 
embroidered green vest of the Zouaves" — which he had carried with him 
from New York, and constantly worn during his absence — as, if 'twas his 
fortune to fall iu battle — he wished to die with " the color of his father- 
land" over his heart. He wished to leave me a "Power of Attorney" — 
in case he fell in any future engagement — to receive whatever money was 
belonging to him and convert it to the use of the company. This I posi- 
tively refused to do, and was trying to laugh him out of the gruesome 
thoughts of will-making — when the door opened and in walked — General 
Meagher. 

We both jumped to our feet. I to grasp his outstretched hand and respond 
to his cordial greeting. Frank to assume a military attitude and salute his 
General. 

Meagher was evidently as much surprised as was Frank at the unlooked 
for recontre — as his tone implied when he remarked: — 

" Is it here you are, Murray ? " 

"It is, General ?" 

"Did *ou get a furlough from the hospral?" 



456 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHER. 

"I did not, General. I asked it from the doctor, but he refused my 
request." 

" And so you left without permission ! " 

"Yes, General." 

"Hem!— Did you get your pay yet.'' 

"I did uot General.'" 

"Well, you had better go the Paymaster's office and get it, and then 
return to the hospital as quick as you can, and if any questions are asked 
concerning your absence, say you saw me in New York, and explained your 
presence there to me.*' 

Whereupon Frank again saluted and took his departure — for the time. 
No sooner had he left than the General, addressing me, said: — 

" That's all the fault of you Fenians. There's such a mysterious attrac- 
tion in your Brotherhood that no risks to be incurred, can keep ye apart." 

I answered that, in the present instance, I would assume the responsi- 
bility — on behalf of the rest of us — of whatever blame he may attach to 
it — which, however, I thought would be very little — after he had all the 
circumstances explained. I then related Frank's whole story, and when I 
mentioned the incident of his wearing the Zouave vest, he was visibly af- 
fected, and said — in a tone of admiration — "Poor fellow! how devoted 
he is to the old cause." 

We then had a long conversation over the events that transpired since 
our last meeting. He was peculiarly gratified by the action taken by the 
Irish Nationalists at the great meeting convened in Dublin to sympathize 
with the cause (if the Union, and on the effect produced thereby on the 
Irish people at large, and their enemies — the English Government and their 
landlord garrison, 

A few evenings afterwards, General Meagher addressed a large and most 
enthusiastic meeting in the Armory of the Seventh Regiment, N. Y. S. N. G., 
(that which has for some years past been occupied by the 69th). Then it 
was that he rela ed the incident which gave rise to the Eebel General's 
bitter exclamation — 

'•'Here comes that damned Green Flag again!'''' 

On that occasion, also, he read a letter from Captain John H. Donovan, 
of the Sixty-ninth, Irish Brigade, who had an eye shot out at Malvern 
Hill, was left for dead on the field, and fell next day, into the hands of 
the enemy. When he fell, (as he thought mortally) wounded, he requested 



MEAGHER IN NEW YORK. 457 

a comrade to take his sword — that it might be secured from the enemy : 
and when questioned about it by his captors he told them that the sword 
was " where they would never get it." Whereupon one of the rebel Gen- 
erals remarked — alluding to the hero's fearful wound — 

" You'll never require it again, any way." 

To this Donovan retorted: "I have one eye yet to risk for the Union 
-- and when that, too, goes — then — 1*11 go it blind." 



458 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



CHAPTER LXVI. 



ANTIETAM. — FEEDEPJCKSBUEG. — CHANCELLOESVILLE. 

Oh! Hurrah! for the men, who, when danger is nigh, 
Are lound In the lront, looking Death in the eye." 

Davis. 

Notwithstanding the efforts of General Meagher and his zealous friends 
in New York, the progress of filling up the depleted ranks of the Irish 
Brigade was not commensurate with their expectations. The time was not 
propitious for obtaining Irish recruits of the quality desired, for several 
reasons — of which, perhaps, one of the most consequential was, that only 
a few weeks had elapsed since the 69th N. Y. S. M., under Colonel Mat- 
thew Murphy, had volunteered for a second three months' service in res- 
ponse to a call from the President, and, as the original members of the 
69th Regiment constituted but a mere nucleus of the new organization, the 
balance was mostly made up of the Fenian associates of the popular young 
Colonel — the very element that would most promptly respond to Meagher's 
call — had it been the first made. 

Such recruits as had been obtained were hardly prepared to join the 
Brigade in the field before the latter were called on to enter upon a new 
campaign, and one entailing more sacrifices than that which terminated at 
Malvern Hill. 

The evacuation of the Peninsula had been ordered from Washington, and 
McClellan superseded by Pope; but the defeat of the latter at Manassas — 
and the consequent invasion of Maryland by Lee's victorious army, induced 
the authorities to recall McClellan to the chief command, and send, him in 
pursuit of the invaders. 

The Irish Brigade did not participate in the battle of Manassas; for 
when General Meagher rejoined it at Harrison's Landing, it was under or- 
ders to proceed to Fortress Monroe, by way of .Williamsburg and York- 
town. 

From Fortress Monroe the brigade was hurriedly ordered to Washington 



ANTIETAM. 459 



— and thence into Maryland — where it took part in the great battle of An- 
tietam — a fight in which it conspicuously upheld the military renown of its 
gallant race, at the expense of a greater sacrifice of life than it sustained 
in any other engagement during the war. 

ANTIETAM. 

The battle of Antietam was fought on September 17th, 1862; it lasted 
fourteen hours. The Union forces engaged numbered 87,000. The Confeder- 
ates were estimated by McClellan in his official report of the battle, at 
97.000. McClellan refers to the part taken by .the Irish Brigade in the 
engagement — as follows: — 

From General McClellan's Official Report. 

"On the left of General French, General Richardson's Division was hotly 
engaged. Having crossed the Antietam about 9.30 A. M., at the ford crossed 
by the other divisions of Sumner's corps, it moved on a line nearly parallel 
to the Antietam, and formed in a ravine behind the high grounds overlooking 
Boulette's house; the Second (Irish) Brigade, commanded bv General Meagher, 
on the right, the Third Brigade, commanded by General Caldwell, on his 
left and the brigade commanded by Colonel Brooke. Fifty-third Pennsylvania 
Volunteers, in support. As the division moved forward to take its position 
on the field, the enemy directed a fire of artillery against it, but, owing 
to the irregularities of the ground, did but little damage. 

" Meagher's Brigade, advancing steadily, soon became engaged with the 
enemy, posted to the left and in front of Roulette's house. It continued to 
advance under a heavy fire, nearly to the crest of the hill overlooking Piper's 
house, the enemy being posted in a continuation of the sunken road and 
corn-field before referred to. Here the brave Irish Brigade opened upon the 
enemy a terrific muskttry fire. 

"All of General Sumner's corps was now engaged — General Sedgwick 
on the right. General French in the centre, and General Richardson on the 
left. The Irish Brigade sustained its well-earned reputation. After suffering 
terribly in officers and men, and strewing the ground with their enemies as 
they drove them back, their ammunition nearly expenced, and their com- 
mander, General Meagher, disabled by the fall of his horse, shot under 
him, this biigade was ordered to give place to General Caldwell's brigade, 
which advanced to a short distance in its rear. The lines were passed by 
"i Irish Biigade, breaking by company to the rear, and General Caldwell's, 



460 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER 

by company to the front, as steadily as on drill. Colonel Brooke's brigade 
now became the second line. 

"The ground over which Generals Richardson's and French's divisions 
were fighting was very irregular, interseciel by numerous ravines, hills: 
covered with growing corn, inclosed by stone walls, behind which the enemy 
could advance unobserved upon any exposed point of our lines." 

An American Officer on the Brigade at Antietam. 

Captain Edward Field of the U. S. Artillery. — from whose graphic 
and friendly sketches of the -brigade I have made several interesting extracts 
in the course of this work — thus bears testimony to their valor at An- 
tietam : — 

" At Antietam came 

The Crowning Glory of the, Irish Brigade. 

" When French's division, containing many new troops, was so roughly 
handled, the brigade was sent in on the left of Dunker's Church, and slowly 
forced the enemy back beyond the famous sunken road, which had been 
filled with corpses by an enfilading fire from one of our batteries, and pre- 
sented the most ghastly spectacle of the war. Usiug this lane as a breast- 
work, they held it to the close of the fight, losing not a prisoner, having 
not one straggler, but at a loss of life that was appalling. One regiment 
lost nearly fifty per cent., another over thirty. The rebels seemed to have 
a special spite against the green flag, and five color-bearers were shot down 
successively in a short time. As the last man fell even these Irishmen hes- 
itated a moment to assume a task synonymous with death. "Big Gleason,'' 
Captain of the Sixty-third, six feet seven, sprang forward and snatched it 
up. In a few minutes a bullet struck the staff, shattering it to pieces - r 
Gleason tore the flag from the broken staff, wrapped it around his body, 
putting his sword-belt over it, and went through the rest of that fight 
untouched. " 

Colonel Wiliiam F. Fox. 107th X. Y. V., in an interesting article enti- 
tled '-The Chances of Being Hit in Battle, * which appeared in The Century 
for May, 1SS8, makes the percentge loss of the 09th and 63d Regiments at 
Antietam much greater than the above estimate. Here are his figures : — 



Present. Killed and Wounded. Per Cent. 



69th New York. Antietam, Md., ... 317 

63d New York. Antietam, Md., ... 341 



196 
202 




\ s 



ANTIETAM. 461 



The Times corespondent — who was never suspected of partiality to the 
Irish — thus writes of the brigade at Antietam: — 

"In less than half an hour after taking this position, Gen. Meagher 
was ordered to enter the field with the Irish Brigate. They marched up 
to the brow of the hill, cheering as they went, led by Gen. Meagher in 
person, and were welcomed with cheers by French's Brigade. The musketry 
fighting at this point was the severest and most deadly ever witnessed be- 
fore—so acknowledged by veterans in the service. Men on both sides fell 
in large numbers every minute, and those who were eye-witnesses of the 
struggle did not think it possible for a single man to escape. The enemy 
here, at first, were concealed behind a knoll, so that only their heads 
were exposed. The brigade advanced up the slope with a cheer, when 
a most deadly fire was poured in by a second line of the enemy concealed 
in the Sharpsburg road, which at this place is several feet lower than the 
surrounding surface, forming a complete rifle-pit, and also from a force par- 
tially concealed still further to tne rear. 

"The line of the brigade, in its advance up the hill, was broken in 
the centre temporarily by an obstruction — the right wing having advanced 
to keep up with the colors — and fell back a short distance, when General 
Meagher directed that a rail fence — which the enemy a few minutes before 
had been fighting behind — should be torn down. His men, in face of a 
gailiug fire, obeyed the order, when the whole brigade advanced to the 
brow of the hill, cheering as they went, and causirjg the enemy to fall 
back to their second line — the Sharpsburg road — which is some three feet 
lower than the surrounding surface. 

" In this road were massed a large force of infantry, and here was the 
most hotly contested point of the day. Each brigade of this division was 
brought into action at this point, and the struggle was truly terrific for 
more than four hours — the enemy finally, however, were forced from their 
position. 

"In this work the New York German battery, stationed on the hill 
across the crick, renderea tilkient service by pouring in upon their massed 
forces a constant stream of 20-pound shells. General Caldwell's brigade was 
next ordeied into action by Gmtral Richardson in person. They, too, 
advanced in good order, cheering, and were received with cheers by the Irish 
Brigade. 

"The brigade suffered terribly. General Meagher's horse was shot under 
him, and a bullet passed through his clothes. The Sixty-third Regiment of 
tilis brigade, always conspicuous for deeds of daring in battle, was partic- 



462 



MEM01ES OF GEN. THOMAS FBANCIS MEAGHEE. 



ularly so in the battle of Antietam. The colors were shot down sixteen 
times, and on' each occasion a man was ready to spring forward and place 
the colors in front. John Hartigan, a member of Company H, and only 
sixteen years old, went some distance in advance of the regiment with the 
colors, and waved them defiantly in the face of the enemy. The whole 
brigade gave a cheer that was heard along the lines for a mile, when it 
advanced up the rising grouud and drove the enemy from a stroLg position. 

" Company H was commanded by Lieutenant John H. Gleason, formerly 
of the Irish Papal Brigade, Italy." 

The following official report of the casualties of the Irish Brigade at 
Antietam is taken from " The War of the Rebellion," Volume XIX. 





Killed. 


Wou 


ided. 


Captured or 
missinsr. 





Command. 


UJ 

O 

o 


- 3 


<3 

S 


■73 

S3 

"a S 


to 

Sh 

O) 

o 

m 

■o 


T3 

O . 

a a 


si 

& 


Second Brigade. 
Brig- Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher. 

Staff, ...... 

29th Massachusetts, 

63d New York, .... 

69rh New York, . 

SSih New York, .... 


4 
4 
2 


7 
31 
40 
25 


1 

5 
6 
2 


29 
160 
146 

73 




3 
2 


1 
39 
202 
196 

102 


Total Second Brigade, . 


10 


103 


14 


408 




5 


540 



The ten officers killed were : — 
Captain John Cavanagh, 
Lieut. Patrick W. Ltdon, . 
Lieut. Cadwalader Smith, . 
Lieut. Henry McConnell, 
Captain Felix Duffy, 
Lieut. John Conway. 
Lieut. Patrick J. Kelly. 
Lieut. Charles Williams, 
Captain John O'Connell Joyce, 
Captain Patrick F. Cloonei. 



. Sixty-third. 

. Sixty-third. 

. Sixty-third. 

. Sixty-third. 

. Sixty-ninth. 

. Sixty-ninth. 

. Sixty-ninth. 

. Sixty-ninth. 

. Eighty-eighth. 

. Eighty-eighth. 



Note. — I regret that it is not at present in my power to give a more 
extended notice of those dead heroes — some of whom were, moreover, my 



FREDEEICKSBUBG. 463 



warm personal friends. On some future occasion I hope to be enabled to 
do more adequate justice to their memories, and to those of others of their 
gallant brothers. 

"Who fell in the cause they had vowed to maintain." 

God Rest Them ! 

FREDERICKSBURG. 

" And if at eve, boys, 

Comrades shall grieye, boys, 
O'er our corses— let it be with pride,— 

When thinkiDg that each, boys, 

On that red beach, boys, 
Lies the flood mark of the battle's tide." 

M. J. Barry. 

In less than two months after the battle of Antietam, General McClel- 
lan was, lor the second time, relieved from command of the Army of the 
Potomac, and General Burnside appointed in his place. In the mean time 
the Irish Brigade had been reinforced by the 116th Penn. Volunteers — a 
new Irish regiment which, in its first fight, a month subsequently, proved 
itself worthy of a place beside its veteran comrades in arms. 

On the 23d of November following, the brigade was further strengthened 
by the accession of the 2Sth Massachusetts Volunteers, which had been ori- 
ginally destined and specially raised for it. Under that impression hundreds 
of fine young Irishmen had joined its ranks; yet, through some unexplained 
cause, this splendid regimert was at first assigned to the Ninth Army Corps at 
Port Royal, but through the influence of General Sumner it was transferred 
from the Ninth to the Second Corps, and, to the gratification of all con- 
cerned, it was assigned to the Irish Brigade, of General Hancock's Division. 

The 2Sth Massachusetts was commanded by Colonel Richard Byrne, a 
brave and accomplished soldier, who, though only in his thirtieth year, had 
already served for thirteen years in the United States Cavalry under Colo- 
nel, (afterwards) General, Sumner, on whose recommendation he had been 
commissioned as First Lieutenant in the Fifth United States Cavalry, — from 
which, on the recommendation of General Averill, he was transferred to the 
colonelcy of the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. 

The 29th Massachusetts Volunteers had, by this time been detached from 
the Irish Brigade. The brigade was now distinctively and thoroughly Irisa 
in all its component parts — the aggregate strength of its five regiments 



40 i MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

amounting to a little over 1.300 effective men: — about the number with 
which the old Sixty-ninth entered on its first campaign. 

The Confederate Position at Fredericksburg. — The Battle-field. 

The town of Fredericksburg is situated at the southern side of the Rap- 
pahannock River, sixty miles from Richmond and fifty-five from Washing- 
ton. During the war it had a population of about five thousand. 

The Rappahannock, at this point is skirted by low crests of hills, which 
on the northern bank run parallel and close to the river, and on the oppo- 
site side stretch backward from the river, and leave a semi-circular plain six 
miles in length and from two to three miles in breadth enclosed within their 
line before they again approach the river. Immediately above the town the 
bluffs are bold and bare of trees, but as the hills in their course eastward 
recede from the river they become lower and are densely wooded, while 
low spurs, covered with copse-wood, run down at right-angles to the range 
into the plain. 

On this range of hills, and behind and between these spurs — in the 
second week of December, 1862, General Lee's army, seventy thousand strong, 
was posted, extending for a distance of six miles from the extreme left, 
and ending in the immediate neighborhood of Massaponax Creek — which 
joins the Rappahannock five miles below Fredericksburg. The command of 
General Longstreet occupied that portion of the range in the immediate vici- 
nity of Fredericksburg, his right resting on Marye's Hill, on the crest of 
which was posted Colonel Walton's far-famed Washington Artillery, sup- 
ported by a Georgia rifle regiment commanded by Colonel McMillan, an Irish 
officer. 

At the base of the hill ran a road skirted by a stone wall — of sufficient 
he ght to conceal the road behind it from an enemy approaching; across the 
plain between it and the town. Behind this wall a brigade of Confederate 
infantry, commanded by General Thomas R. Cobb, had thrown up an 
entrenchment, thus converting it into a formidable breastwork. That por- 
tion of the plain between the wall and the town, was not onlv exposed to 
the close-range fire of these concealed riflemen, and the flanking fire from 
a row of ritle-pits constructed behind a rail-fence running diagonally from 
the wall towards the town — on the right of the attacking party— but it 
was so completely commanded by the battery on the crest of the hill that Col. 
Alexander, Chief of Artillery to General Longstreet, observed to him on 



FliEDEIllCKSBURG. 465 



the day before the battle — •' We will comb it as with a fine-tooth comb. A 
chicken could not live on that tfeld when we open fire." 

About midway between the stonewall and the town, the plain is trav- 
ersed by a canal or mill-race. Two roads cut the plain nearly at right 
angles with the canal, the one, a plank road, the other the Telegraph Road 
leading to Richmond. These roads led into the town by streets running at 
right augles to the river. They crossed the canal by plank bridges.' Be- 
tween the canal and the stone wall the ground was obstructed here and 
there by houses and garden fence?. That portion of the plain over which 
the Union forces charged to the assault, after passing the canal, comprised 
about ten or twelve acres. The night of the 13th of December, 1S62, the 
killed and wounded of the Federal army on this contracted space averaged 
a thousand to the acre^ — one out of every twenty being a soldier of the Irish 
Brigade. 

Burnside's Position Before the Battle. — Fatal Result of nis 
Incapacity and Rashness. 

Burnside's forces, comprising 116.000 effective men, occupied the range 
of hills on the northern side of the Rappahannock. On the evening of De- 
cember 9th the Commanding-General called a Council of War of his corps 
and division commanders, at which he informed them of his intention to make 
a direct assault on Marye's Hill, which he regarded as the key of the 
enemy's position. It has been stated that not one of those gallant veterans 
sanctioned the project. But Burnside was determined that, cost what it 
would, the attempt should be made, — and his subordinates, as in duty 
bound, prepared to obey his orders. 

Under the protection of one hundred and seventy-nine guns commanding- 
tbe river and the town beyond, five pontoon bridges were thrown across the 
Rappahannock on the night of the 11th of December, and early the next mor- 
ning the Union army commenced to cross and occupy Fredericksburg, prepara- 
tory to an assault on the heights in rear of the town. But, excepting an artillery 
duel between a Federal battery and the ''Richmond Howitzers," commanded 
by Captain " Ned. MacCarthy," there was no fighting of any consequence on 
that day. In the evening all was quiet, and it was thought by many on 
both sides that Burnside would order his army to recross the river, without 
attacking the strongly entrenched Confederate position. 

But the seeming calm was only the prelude to the most disastrous storm 
encountered by the Union army during the war. Volumes have been writ 



466 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

ten on the history of that unprecedented carnage, and it is unnecessary to 
record its sickening details here, — not even those in which General Meagher 
and his brigade were more particularly interested. For what I have to 
record of their conduct in the battle I shall quote from other than Irish 
authorities — though having plenty of the latter at my disposal. 

I must, however, premise that on this occason the three old regiments of 
the Irish Brigade, for the first time, went into action without their Green 
Flairs, (the 28th Massachusetts alone carrying the national colors). A month 
previously, the remnants of the tattered colors which they had borne triumph- 
antly on every battlefield from Fair Oaks to A'ntietam, had been sent to New 
York to be treasured as souvenirs of Irish loyalty and bravery, and were to be 
replaced by a new set of colors presented to the brigade by a number of na- 
tive-born American gentlemen in testimony of their admiration and esteem for 
the Gaelic defenders of the Constitution. The new colors had been expected 
in camp for riays previous to the issue of the order for crossing the river, 
and grand preparations to receive them with suitable honors had been made, 
including a banquet to which many of the most distinguished officers of the 
Army of the Potomac had been invited, and had signified their intention 
of being present. Captain Martin, Brigade Quartermaster, was selected by 
his brother officers to proceed to Washington and procure materials for the 
banquet. He fulfilled his commission; but before his return with the viands 
the brigade were in Fredericksburg, and the banquet had to be postpontd 
— for two days. 

The Sprigs of Green. — Meagher's Address to the 88th. 

In the meantime, Meagher resolved that his men should carry the "col- 
ors of their Fatherland" into what promised to be the bloodiest fight that 
ever took place on the American continent; and, accordingly, on that Sat- 
urday morning, while the brigade was drawn up in line of battle and at a 
''•parade rest," on a street in Fredericksburg, the General ordered that a 
sprig of evergreen (boxwood) be placed in each soldier and officer's cap, 
himself setting the example. He then, accompanied by General Hancock 
and his staff, passed along in front of his "little brigade," and addressed 
each regiment separately in a few brief and soul-thrilling sentences. When he 
reached the colors of the Eighty-eighth Regiment, he uncovered his headand 
said : — 

"Officers and soldiers of the Eighty-eighth Regiment — In a few moments 
you will engage the enemy in a most terrible battle, which will probably 



FEEDEBICESB UR G. 467 



decide the fate of this glorious, great and good country — the home of your 
adoption." The General hesitated a moment, and then with eyes full to 
overflowing, and in accents trembling with emotion, said: " Soldiers — This 
is my wife's own regiment, 'her own dear Eighty-eighth' she calls it, 
and I know, and have confidence, that with dear woman's smile upon you, 
and for woman's sake, this day you will strike a deadly blow to those 
wicked traitors who are now but a few hundred yards from you, and bring 
back to this distracted country its former prestige and glory. This may be 
my last speech to you, but I will be with you ' when the battle is the 
fiercest; and, if I fall, I can say I did my duty, and fell fighting in the 
most glorious of causes."* 

A few moments after the brigade rushed to the onset. 

In testimony of how gallantly the Irish Brigade maintained the soldierly 
renown of their ancient race on that disastrous day, I will quote the evi- 
dence of a few distinguished witnesses — giving precedence to that of the 
typical American soldier — 

GENERAL HANCOCK. 

Extracts from General Hancock's Official Report of the Battle 

of Fredericksburg.— The Irish Brigade and its Officers. — 

Its Casualties Commensurate With its Valor. 

"No ground was held in advance of our line, nor did any soldiers fall 
nearer the enemy than those of the regiments of my division and ihose 
of Kimball's brigade of French's division. It seemed that the defenses 
of the enemy were too powerful to be taken by an assault of infantry. 
One serious difficulty in the advance was in the nature of the obstacles 
already referred to, and the fact that a number of substantial fences inter- 
vened, which were required to be pulled down before the troops could con- 
tinue their advance. Each of these fences destroyed the unity of at least 
one brigade. These obstacles naturally caused brigades and regiments to 



* Among the documents kindly placed at my disposal by Mrs. General Meagher, 1 
find the following telegram: 

" Head Qks. Irish Brigade, Dec. 17, 1S62. 
" To Mrs. Br. Gen. Meagher, 129 5th Ave., N. Y. 

" I am quite safe with the exception of a bruised knee. 1 am remaining for the pres- 
ent with what is left of my noble Brigade, but should I get the necessary permission 
wlii return to you as soon as my wounded are cared f r. 

" Thos. Francis Meagher, Br. Gen " 



468 MEMOIRS OF GEN THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER 

lose somewhat their solidity of organization for an assault, for all these 
operations were conducted under a terrific fire. 

"The bravery and devoticn of the troops could not have been surpassed, 
as an evidence of which it is but necessary to mention the losses incurred. 
Out of 5.006 men, the maximum taken into action by me, the loss was 
2.013 men, of whom 156 were commissioned officers. It will be observed 
that the losses in some of the regiments were of unusual severity, such as 
is seldom seen in any battle, no matter how prolonged. These were veteran 
regiments, led by able and tried commanders, and I regret to say that 
their places cannot soon be filled. 

"Although the division failed to carry the enemy's heights, it lost no 
honor, but held the ground it took, and, under the most discouraging 
obstacles, retained it until relieved after the action was over. It will be 
impossible to mention in this report the names of all those who were dis- 
tinguished. For those I reler to the reports of the brigade and regimen- 
tal commanders; still, it is due to their valor that I should mention those 
brigade and regimental cemmanders who performed the most important 
parts, and whose commands, in their heroic efforts, .most severely suffered. 

"Brig. Gen. T. F. Meagher, commanding Second Brigade, led his bri- 
gade to the field under a heavy lire; but, owing to a serious lameness.* 
making it difficult for him to either ride or walk, he was unable to bear 
that promineutly active part which is usual with him. Some time after the 
Irish Brigade had gone in r o action, its regiments having suffered very 
severely, and after having been replaced by General Caldwell's brigade, 
General Meagher was instructed to collect the remnants of his regiments 
ana march them to the point of formation, in order that their cartridge- 
boxes might be refilled. 

'•The strength of this brigade when the action commenced was 92 
officers and 1,323 enlisted men. Its loss was 53 commissioned officers and 
48S men. 

" Col. Eobert Nugent, severely wounded, commanding the Sixty-Ninth 
New York Volunteers, conducted his troops with his usual spirit, and was 
making a final effort to ad\ance when he was shot. His regiment had 19 
commissioned officers and 219 enlisted men when the attack .vas made. 
Its loss was 16 officers wounded and 112 enlisted men killed, wounded, and 



Caused by a boll on his knee-joint, which had been prematurely lanced. 



FEEDEBICKSBUEG. 469 



missing. This gallant regiment was marched off the field by its fourth, 
commander that day, the three senior commanders having been wounded. 

"Col. Patrick Kelly, commanding the Eighty-eighth New York Volun- 
teers, was active and resolute, as he always is, and, with his regiment, 
performed their usual good service. The Eighty-eighth numbered 23 com- 
missioned officers and 229 enlisted men when the assault commenced, of 
which it lost 12 officers and 115 enlisted men killed and wounded. 

"Col. Dennis Heenan, commanding the One hundred and sixteenth Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers, was wounded severely. His regiment suffered heavily, 
and, although comparatively young in the service, behaved handsomely. 
This regiment marched on the field with 17 commissioned officers and 230 
enlisted men. Its loss was 12 officers wounded and 77 men killed, wounded, 

ad missing. The fourth officer in command during the battle brought the 

egiment off the field, the others being disabled. 

" Col. Richard Byrnes, a veteran soldier, commanding the Twenty-eighth 
?»Iassachusetts Volunteers, displayed his excellent qualities in this action. 
His regiment entered the action with 16 officers and 400 men, of whom 7 
officers and 149 enlisted men were killed and wounded. 

Maj. Joseph O'Neill, a brave officer, commanding the Sixty-third New York 
Volunteers, was wounded. His regiment numbered 17 officers and 145 enlisted 
men when the assault began. Its loss was 7 officers and 37 enlisted men 
killed and wounded. This regiment had two commanders during the day, 
the first having been wounded." 

The Confederate General, Longstreet, bears this chivalrous testimony to 
the indomitable courage of his antagonists in that murderous fight: — 

The Most Fearful Carnage. 

"From the moment of their appearance began the most fearful carnasre; 
with our artillery from the front, right and rear, tearing through their 
ranks, the Federals pressing forward with almost invincible determination, 
maintaining their steady step and closing up their broken ranks. Thus reso- 
lutely they marched upon the stone fence, behind which quietly waited the 
Confederate brigade of Gen. Cobb. As they came within reach of this bri- 
gade a storm of lead was poured into their advancing columns and they 
were swept from the field like chaff before the wind. A cloud of smoke 
shut out the scene for a moment, and rising revealed the scattered fragments 
recoiling from their gallant but hopeless charge. The artillery still plowed 



470 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

through their retreating ranks and searched out the places of concealment 
into which the retreating troops had plunged. 

u So the struggle went on. A fifth time the Federals formed, charged, 
and were repulsed. A sixth time they charged and were driven back, when 
night came to end the dreadful carnage and the Federals withdrew, leaving 
the battle-field literally heaped with the bodies of their dead. Before the 
well-directed fire of Cobb's brigade the Federals had fallen like the steady 
dripping of the rain from the eaves of a house. Our musketry alone 
killed and wounded at least 5.000, and these with the slaughter by artil- 
lery left over 7,000 killed and wounded before the foot of Marye's Hill. 
The dead were piled sometimes three deep, and when morning broke the 
spectacle we saw upon the battle-field was one of the most distressing I 
ever witnessed. I thought as I saw the Federals come again and again to 
their death that they deserved success, if courage and daring could entitle 
soldiers to victory." 

General Robert A. Lee's Testimony. 

If any further proof of the valor of the Irish soldiers at Fredericks- 
burg were necessary, it will be found in the freely-tendered eulogy be- 
stowed on them by the Commandiug-Geueral of the Confederate army. 

In an interview with an ex-chaplain of an Ohio regiment, at the close 
of the war, General Lee spoke with enthusiasm of the character of the 
Irish as soldiers — saying that "they played a prominent part in all the 
wars of the world for the last three centuries, now on the one side, now 
on the other. The Irish soldier," he said, '-fights not so much for lucre as 

through the reckless love of adventure, and, moreover, with a chivalrous d< vo- 
tion to the cause he espouses for the time being. Clebourne, on our side, 
inherited the intrepidity of his race. On a field of battle he shone like a 

meteor in a clouded sky! As a dashing military man he was all virtue; 
a single vice did not stain him as a warrior. His generosity and benev- 
olence had no limits. The care which he took of the fortunes of his offi- 
cers and soldiers, from the greatest to the least, was incessant. His integrity 
was proverbial, and his modesty was an equally conspicuous trait in his 
character. 

"■Meagher, on your side, though not Clebourne's equal in military genius, 
rivalled him in bravery and in the affections of his soldiers. The gallant 
stand which his bold brigade made on the heights of Fredericksburg 
is well known. Never were men so brave. They ennobled their race by their 



TEE DEATH FEAST. 



splendid gallaiftry on that desperate occasion. Though totally routed, they 
reaped harvests of glory. Their brilliant, though hopeless assaults on oui 
lines, excited the hearty applause of our ofiicers and soldiers." 



THE DEATH FEAST. 

And the room seemed filled with whispers 

As we looked at the vacant seats, 
And, with choking throats, we pushed aside 

The rich but untasted meats; 
Then In sil. nee we brimmed our glasses, 

As we rose up— just eleven, 
And bowed as we drank to the loved and the dead 

Who had made us Thirty skven. 

Gen. chakles G. Halpine. 

While on that "bloody Saturday," the Irish Brigade were being mowed 
down by hundreds under the fiery hail of shot and shell, on the slope be- 
hind Fredericksburg, the new colors, for tbe reception of which they* had 
made such elaborate preparations, arrived from New York. 

When the fact was communicated to General Meagher and the few unin- 
jured officers of his command, it was determined to carry out the original 
programme without lunher delay. Under the changed condition ol affairs 
— resulting lrom the unlooked-for events of the past week, — the spacious 
hall which had been constructed for the ceremonial festivities hi the camp 
on the northern side of the river was no longer available, and the little 
Theatre of Fredericksburg was selected in its stead. Here, accordingly, on 
Monday, December 15th, there assembled on ti.e stage twenty-two Federal 
Generals around their honored host, the presiding officer, of the occasion, — 
General Thomas Francis Meagher. Around the walls, in the body of the 
edifice, were seated tne officers of the brigade and their guests, while, in 
the centre, were ranged two rows of tables coverec with the requisite ma- 
terial for an elaborate banquet — the viands being tooked in the neighboring 
houses, and served by a coips of military waiters — who coolly performed 
their prescribed duty, heedless of the thuuderovd boom of the rebel batte- 
ries, the screaming shells above their heads — and the occasional bursting of 
one of those unwelcome visitors in daugeivus proximity to the Theatre — 
against which, it soon became evident, tiey were specially directed. This, 
as it subsequently transpired, was oving to a sharp-sighted Confederate 
artillery officer having noticed an unusial number of staff-officers congregat- 






472 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

ing in the vicinity of the edifice, and suspecting that sorofi event of more 
than ordinary importance was transpiring inside, took this spiteful method 
of creating a disturbance. 

Verily it was a most extraordinary occurrence that was then taking 
place inside those walls: — for rarely, if ever, was a public banquet held 
under such discouraging circumstances. No wonder that even some of the 
most illustrious participants in the festivities at first regarded the whole 
proceeding as ir. explicable — save on the theory that the Celtic nature was 
so constituted, and its temperament so elastic, that, from the lowest depth? 
of depression it could rebound almost instantaneously into the airiest and 
most exhilirating joyousness of spirit. 

But those guests who loked below the surface, soon discovered a deeper 
and nobler cause for their host's action, and that of his comrades of the 
brigade. For what time could be more opportune for giving public expres- 
sion to the feelings of bitter indignation against the political partizanship 
which drenched the neighboring fields with the blood of the nation's best 
and bravest defenders — than when his words found an echo in the hearts of 
those battle-scarred veterans surrounding him — whose flashing eyes testified 
to their sympathy with the orator's denunciation of the criminal incapables, 
even while their compressed lips refrained from giving audible endorsement 
to his scathing indictment? 

Alter the presentation of the new Colors to the commanding officers of 
the several Regiments of the Brigade then present, and of which the par- 
ticulars ore given in General Meagher's letter to the donors — lud taken 
place — the chairman commenced, in the usual form, to give the toasts of 
the evening. 

In connectioL with the performance of this portion of General Meagher's 
duties, a gallant officer of the brigade, then present, related the following 
thrilling incident: — 

"Among the Generals present on the stage, and occupying a seat next 
to General Meagher, o-i the left, was Brigadier-General Alfred Sully, who 
then commanded the First Brigade, Second Division, Second Army Corps. 
General Sully was born i-> Pennsylvania, of Irish parents, and was a grad- 
uate of West Point Military Academy. He was a brave and accomplished 
soldier, a popular commander, and an esteemed friend of General Meagher's. 
Before his promotion he was Colonel of the First Minnesota— which regi- 
ment constituted one of the five in his brigade. The 82d New York Vol- 
unteers, (Irish,) under command of Meagher's old '48 associate, Lieutenant- 



THE DEATH FEAST. 473 



Colonel James Huston, . was another, and two braver regiments were not in 
the Army of the Potomac. On rising to propose the health of this distin- 
guished soldier, General Meagher said : — 

• 

ut Generals, brother officers, and comrades of the Army of the Potomac; 
fill your glasses to the brim. I have the honor, the pride, and pleasure, 
to ask you to drink to the health of my esteemed friend on my left, — 
General Alfred Sully: and I want you to understand, gentlemen, that 
he is not one of your ' Political Generals,' but a brave and accomplished 
soldier — who attracted his '■star' from the firmament oj glory — by the electricity 
of his sword!' " 

The effect was startling. A momentary silence was followed by an 
enthusiastic cheer of delight and admiration. So absorbed were the officers 
in the beauty and originality of the picture depicted in lightning colors by 
the inspired soldier-orator, that, for a moment they failed to notice the 
bold allusion to the ''Political Generals."' It was but a moment, however, 
when the full significance of the phrase burst upon their mental vision, and 
a spontaneous shout showed how fully the allusion was comprehended and 
appreciated. After that there remained no doubt ff Meagher's chief reason 
for holding the " Death Feast." 

Not the least startling incident of this extraordinary banquet was its 
singularly dramatic ending. While Meagher, in tones of almost unearthly 
eloquence was paying his soul-felt tribute to the still-unburied dead, the 
continuous pealing of the Confederate guns, and the hurtling of their shells 
through the air showed that they had, at length, got the range of the 
Theatre, and would soon make it untenable. This conviction was forcibly 
impressed on the most stoical of the veterans by a peculiar u object lesson,'' 
exhibited for their benefit by one of the waiters engaged in bringing in the 
dessert. This worthy nonchalantly marched in bearing on a dish a cannon- 
ball, which had just spent its force in tumbling down a stone-house within 
a few yards of the Theatre. Old soldiers as they were, they took the 
hint, and, without any formal ceremonial, the assemblage abruptly broke 
up — each officer making the best of his way to his post. 

On that night the Federal army evacuated Fredericksburg, and recrossed 
the Rappahannock without opposition. 

Among the killed of the Irish Brigade at Fredericksburg there was not 
one whose loss was more deplored by General Meagher than Major William 
Horgan, of the S8th Regiment. He had known him as private, as Sergeant, 
,s Captain, as Major, and in all those positions found him worthy, willing, 



474 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

and brave — a true Irishman, and a true American. These sterling qualities 
won him, in life, the General's unlimited confidence and strong friendship, 
and actuated the latter in the exertions, which, with the remnant of his 
brothir officers, he made to recover their gallant comrade's body, and send 
it home to New York to be buried with honors befitting a man faithful to 
his God, his Country and his Flag. 

After considerable time spent in the search, by the parties detailed un- 
der a flag of truce to bury the dead and succor the wounded, the Major's 
body was found. General Meagher had it embalmed, and accompanied it to 
New York, as soon as his painful lameness permitted him to undergo the 
fatigues of the journey. He arrived home with his charge at noon on 
Christmas Day — when the Major's remains were conveyed to the old head- 
quarters of the Irish Brigade, 596 Broadway, which had been tastefully 
arranged for their reception. There they were " waked " for two days and 
three nights under charge of a "guard of honor," and on the following 
Sunday morning they were, in compliance with the request of the Commit- 
tee of the Common Council on National Affairs, transferred to the Governor's 
Room in the City Hall, where they lay in state until 2 P. M., when, attended 
by the greatest funeral cortege seen in New York since the commence- 
ment of the war, they were conveyed to Calvary Cemetery and buried 
with befitting military honors, accompanied by the prayers of his people. 

General Meagher attended the funeral, having left his bed to pay this 
last tribute of respect and affection to his friend and comrade, but, this 
duty performed,^- he had to return to his invalid couch, and remain there 
lor nearly a fortnight under a surgeon's care. 

When able to resume his military duties he returned to the camp near 
Falmouth, where the Army of the Potomac lay Inactive in winter quarters. 

Presentation to General Meagher. 

Previous to his departure from New York for the camp, General Meager 
was afforded the opportunity of personally acknowledging the pnsentation of 
the new colors, and of explaining the ground on which they were deehued 
by the officers of the Irish Brigade. 

It was on the occasion that a number o£ his friends met at his private 
residence, No. 129 Fifth Avenue, to witness the presentation to him of a 
beautiful gold medal by the officers of his gallant command. All the offi- 
cers of his Brigade then in the city were present, except those whose wounas 
prevented their attendance. 



PRESENTATION TO GENERAL MEAGHER. 



Among the civilians present were James T. Brady, Daniel Develin, City 
Chamberlain; Judge O'Connor, Michael Phelan, Hugh Collender, John O'Ma- 
hony, Mr. Spauldiug, Daniel Bryant, Neil Bryant, Christopher O'Connor, 
Patrick J. Meehan and John Mullally. 

Colonel Robert Nugent made the presentation on behalf of his brother 
officers, accompanied by a short and soldierly speech in which he alluded 
to the noble manner in which the Irish Brigade was led by General Meagher, 
who was always at his post in the hour of danger, sharing with the 
humblest of his men the glories, triumphs, and perils of the battle-field. 
On behalf of Mr. Neil Bryant, Colonel Nugent also presented to General 
Meagher a pair of Brigadier's shoulder straps, expressing the hope at the 
same time that it would not be long before another star would be adced 
to the. straps in testimony of the recipient's distinguished services to the 
country. 

General Meagher took the medal apd straps into his hands and responded 
in his usual heart-stirrirg style, concluding in these words: — 

" In conclusion, gentlemen, be assured of this, that whilst I shall ever 
in life regard this medal as the most precious treasure in my possession, 
my fidelity to the Sovereign People, and the Constitution of the United 
States, shall be as true and lasting as the gold of which it is made, and 
that my grateful, loving, and proud remembrance of the Irish Brigade, — 
of those heroic comrades who may survive with me, as well as those over 
wh ise graves the Eagle of the Bepubiie has already spread his wings, — 
shall be green and bright as / the emeralds with which it sparkles. More 
dear to me than ships, than mines, than teaming fields, than ancestral for- 
ests and mansions could ever be. 1 shall bequeath it to my son as the 
richest legacy he could receive — with the hope that, taught and inspired by 
its menu-lit?, its inscriptions and its emblem, he may endeavor to serve 
Ireland as I have tried to serve America." 

General Meagher then said that he accepted the gift of the civilian 
friends of the Brigade with the same gratification, and should treasure them 
also. With regard to the wish that had been expressed in presenting them, 
he said that his highest ambition had been more than satisfied. No promo- 
tion or advancement in rank could confer on him a greater pleasure or a 
higher historic dignity than that he had already enjoyed as General of the 
Irish Brigade in America. 

The medal is a most elegant piece of workmanship. It is about two 
inches in diameter, and manufactured of pure gold. On one side is the 



476 MEM01BS OF GEX. THOMAS FBAXCIS MEAQHEB. 

Irish Harp, raised from the surface of the medal and resting upon the 
American and Irish flags, surrounded with a wreath of laurel and sham- 
rocks. Overhead are the words " Irish Brigade," beautifully done in em- 
eralds. On a tablet underneath is the word "Meagher," and underneath 
that again " Semper Fideles." On the obverse, surrounded by another 
wreath of shamrock and laurel, is the following inscription : — 

" PRESENTED TO 

BRIG.-GENERAL THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER, 

BY THE OFFICERS OF THE 

IRISH BRIGADE, 

IN TESTIMONY, OF HIS 

GALLANT AND PATRIOTIC SERVICES 

IN THE CAUSE OF THE 

AMERICAN UNION, 

AND HIS DEVOTION TO THE 

BRIGADE." 

Inside the wreath are names of the battles in which the Brigade had — 
up to that time — participated. 

After the presentation, the company adjourned to the lunch-room, and 
enjoyed themselves after the usual manner of festive Irish gatherings. 

General Meagher called the attention of the company to the new colors 
for the Irish Brigade which had been taken to Fredericksburg for presen- 
tation, but which were refused by the officers of the brigade on the ground 
that they were not strong enough numerically to protect them, and to carry 
them with honor through the scenes of carnage. The colors, he said, were 
the gift of American citizens of New York, and he concluded by propos- 
ing the health of the donors, calling upon Mr. Spaulding to respond in 
their behalf. 

Mr. Spaulding, in reply, said that, — 

" If the words inscribed on the banners had been prepared in letters of 
gold, and if the staff had been studded with diamonds and rubies, the gift 
would not meet the merits of the noble Irish Brigade, which had fought so 
gallantly for the land of their adoption. Nothing that American citizens 
could offer would be too much for the adopted citizens who perilled life 
and everything for the preservation of the republic." 

[General Meagher's "Letter of Acknowledgment to the Donors of the 
New Colors" will be found in the Appendix.] 



PRESENTATION TO GENERAL MEAGHER. 



That the military authorities at Washington did not concur with the 
American patriots of New York in their appreciation of the services ren- 
dered the country by the Irish Brigade; or in the claim of the survivors 
of that gallant band to common justice (not to speak of gratitude) at their 
hands, was plainly .evidenced by the manner in which they discriminated 
agaiust the "adopted citizens" in the matter of granting permission to go 
home to recruit during the four months that the Army of the Potomac 
was lying inactive in winter quarters; while favored New England troops — 
some regiments of which numbered more men than the whole Irish Brigade 
— were relieved from duty and sent to their respective homes "to recruit," 
without demur. 

When it is taken into consideration that, during all this period, the five 
hundred and twenty men — which the three New York regiments of the 
Brigade mustered — were assigned the same amount of harrassiug duty in 
front of the army as would have fallen to their lot, had they their full 
compliment of a thousand men each — the glaring injustice of their treat- 
ment will be made manifest to every impartial mind. 

Even before the slaughter at Fredericksburg — and when it was gener- 
ally thought throughout the army that active operations were suspended for 
the winter — the justice of General Meagher's claim to have his depleted 
regiments relieved from camp duty for a time, and sent into quarters where 
they might recruit their shattered ranks, was admitted by President Lin- 
coln, Secretary Stanton, and General Halleck. Yet now, after their fearful 
losses, no consideration was given to their just claims. 

Under these circumstance?, General Meagher again addressed the Secre- 
tary of War on behalf of his Brigade, in a memorial which clearly set 
forth the reasons for his request, and the justice of his claim.* For months 
this memorial did not even receive the courtesy of an acknowledgment. 
Whether Meagher's allusion to " Political Generals " at the Fredericksburg 
banquet — was made a pretext for this splenetic exhibition of official spite, 
may be a matter for conjecture. His full speech on that occasion has never 
been published, but if it gave expression to the out-spoken sentiments, not 
only of his own command, but of the army and the people of the loyal 
States, it might well have given mortal offence to the parties who felt the 
applicability of its bitter truths to themselves.f 



* For full text of this "memorial" see Appendix. 

+ An officer of the Irish Brigade, who was invalided in New York when the battle of 



478 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRAXCIS MEAGHER. 

At all events, he was the first to voice the public indignation which 
speedily compelled the military authorities at Washington to replace the 
General of their selection by " Fighting Joe Hooker," and therefore, he and 
his Brigade were treated with contumely when they sought for justice and 
fairplay. 

Celebration of St. Patrick's Day by the Irish Brigade. 

To vary the long-continued monotony of camp-life in winter-quarters, to 
stimulate the national spirit of his brigade, and that of their Celtic broth- 
ers in the Army of the Potomac, as well as to show his compatriots of 
all nationalities, in that army that, under no circumstances, however depress- 
ing, cam the Irishman's natural elasticity and light-heartedness be seriously 
affected, General Meagher, about a week before St. Patrick's Day. resolved 
that, although in an enemy's land, the National Festival should be befit- 
tingly celebrated. 

All through the evening of the lGth of March, the drum "orps through- 
out the entire line of the Army of the Potomac kept rattling away at one 
spirit-stirring tuue, and kfpt it continuously up until 12 o'clock ushered in 
"St. Patrick's Day!" And when day broke forth, and the rising sun gave 
promise of a beautiful morning, crowds of soldiers of every rank and con- 
dition might be seen thronging from every part of the army and converg- 
ing to one common centre — " General Thomas Francis Meagher's Irish 
Brigade." 

The preparations for the proper celebration of the day were character- 
istic of the men who honored the festival, eudeaied to their hearts by so 
many tender reminiscences of their boyhood's home beyond the sea. 

A spacious chapel had been erected of canvas, and appropriately orna- 
mented with evergreen wreaths, festoons and bouquets. A new and elegant 
vestment had been purchased by the men for their beloved Chaplain, Rev. 
Father Corby; and here, at S o'clock a. m., the exercises of the day com- 



Fredericksburg took place — thus wrote of those who were responsible for the results of 
that calamitous day:— 

"May God visit as He will, with a just judgment, the maa or men who caused so 
much good, true, loyal blood to be shed in vain; so many brave children of the people 
to be led up to slaughter, to d< etruction, to the coldest blooded murder. For of a surety 
it was all this — it was destruction, slaughter, murder. Did not all that is scientific, 
skilled, trained in the army, c enounce this horrible plan, and demonstrate its failure?" 



ST. I'ATB/CK'S DAY OV THE POTOMAC 



menced with the celebration of High Mass. accompanied by martial music. 
General Meagher and his Brigade, with hundreds of invited guests, were 
present. 

At the close of the Mass the Rev. Father O'Hagan, Chaplain of the 
"Excelsior Brigade," preached an eloquent and patriotic sermon. 

The out-door programme included races — horse, foot, mule. &c. The 
sports were held in a large open field near General Hancock's head-quarters, 
on which three spacious stands had been erected, for the accommodation, 
respectively, of the Judges of the course — the Generals, and other distin- 
guished officers, and the ladies. Among the latter was the Princess Salm- 
Salm and two or three others in riding habits, who won. the admiration of 
the immense concourse by their personal beauty and feats of skill and 
daring in the side-saddle. 

The scene on the grounds just before the commencement of the sports 
is graphically described by an appreciative eye-witness, as follows : — 

" Coming upon the ground we beheld a vast swaying sea of uniforms of 
every style and grade, mounted aud a-foot, mixed pell-mell in one huge 
mass. Here were Zouaves in the showy dress of their different regiments, 
with their red breeebes, fancy jackets, and long-tasseled, skull caps; Volti- 
geurs, Enfants Parous, German riflemen, cavalry, infautry and artillery; the 
Fiench, German, American and Irish languages flying about indiscriminately, 
with here and there a General officer aud his showy yellow-mounted staff, 
trying to force their way through the throng to the stand. Immense amounts 
of gold-lace, and thousands of shoulder-straps of every grade — generals, col- 
onels, majors, captains and lieutenants, glistened in the sun. 

"First of all, Major- General Hooker rode up, amid vociferous cheers, on 
the -weil-known white horse, and maintained his place on the stand during 
the day. Around him were Major-Generais Couch, Hancock, Howard. French, 
Sitkics, Berry, &c, with a large number of Brigadier-Generals. Brigadier- 
General Caldwell, commanding a brigade in Hancock's Division, agisted 
General Meagher, as Master of Ceremonies. 

"Most prominent of all was General Meagher, who. without doubt, was 
master of ceremonies. A tall white hat, green cravat, and a rosette of biue 
ribbon on a brown coat, white gloves, white silk-velvet half-breeches completed 
his uniform; he rode a sprightly bay horse, and carried in his hand a long- 
lashed whip. His form was seen everywhere in incredible short periods of 
time, and above all noise and confusion, rang the voice of the gallant Irish 
commander. 



/ 



480 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

"A glass of wine was passed to General Hooker, and he was called 
upon to drink to a toast. Raising his glass he exclaimed — ' The Irish 
Brigade — God bless them ! ' He then proposed and led — ' Three cheers for 
the Irish Brigade.' and again unbounded cheers resounded over the field for 
the Commander-in-Chief." 

After the forenoon races were over. General Meagher invited his guests 
to accompany him to Brigade-Headquarters, where sandwiches and '• punch" 
had been provided in plenty — the "punchbowl" being half a whiskey- 
barrel festooned with sprigs of box. Here, ''Dr. Larry Reynolds" — the 
jovial Poet-Laureate of the biigade— delivered a spirited ''Poetical Address 
of Welcome," composed for the occasion, in which he handled the authors 
of the Fredericksburg disaster without gloves — and eulogized "Little Mack" 
and "Fighting Joe" most fervently. 

In the afternoon the sports of the field were resumed, and just as the 
last foot-race was over, heavy firing was beard to the right, and rumors 
began circulating of a rebel attack. General Meagher remarked that •' this 
would be only in keeping with precedents, as a fight seemed to be the 
inevitable winding up of a 'big day' in the Irish Brigade." 

The firing continuing, officers and men were immediately ordered to 
quarters, and in ten minutes the race-course was deserted. But every one, 
from General Hooker down, heartily enjoyed the festivities, and as they 
wended their way to their respective quarters their chief regiet was — 
thar "St. Patrick's Day" should come but once a year. 

General Meagher on the Irish Famine of 1863. 

In the winter of 1862, and the spring of 1863, one of the periodical 
landlord-engendered, government-fostered famines occurred in Ireland. With 
their usual alacrity, the noble American people came to the rescue of the 
hapless victims. On the 11th of April a meeting was convened in the 
Academy of Music, New York, to raise funds for the famine-threatened 
Irish people. It was presided over by the Mayor of the city and among 
the prominent citizens present, who adcressed the assemblage, were tne 
venerable Archbishop Hughes, General George B. MeClellan. Richard 
O'Gorman, James T. Brady, Horace Greely and General T. F. Meagher. 

I quote from General Meagher's address that portion thereof in which 
he enunciated the relationship of the Irish-born soldiers of the Republic to 
the land of their birth; and also bore testimony to the sympathy entertained 
for that land by the most popular chief of the American army : — 



MEAGHER ON THE IRISH FAMISE OF 1863, 481 

" Fellow-countrymen of Ireland, citizens of New York, Mr. Mayor, and 
gentlemen : — Although visiting this city in no public capacity whatever, and 
still suffering from a sprain I lately received, and which compelled me to 
leave camp for a few days, I could not resist the appeal addressed to this- 
heart by the poor and famishing of my native land,— an appeal which, 
high above the tumult of the intervening ocean, and the thunders that now 
shake this great commonwealth, has come to us from that old land of 
invincible faith, prolonged martyrdom and inextinguishable hope. I answer 
to this appeal. I am here tonight, and happy, and proud I am to be 
with you on such an occasion and in such a cause. Happy do I feel siuce 
another opportunity, it may be the last, has been offered me to renew the 
assurances of my devotion to the beautiful and illustrious, though it be 
the bereft and downcast island of my birth — the disarmed Poland of the 
seas. Happy do I feel, that, slaved from many dangers of late through 
the bountiful goodness of Heaven, it is my good fortune to raise my voice 
once more for the forlorn children of that island in uni ; on with the 
eloquent, the pious and the powerful utterances which this night awake the 
echoes of this superb edifice to swell tiie divine invocations of charity. 

"Proud I am that, bowed down though she be, steeped in gall to the 
lips, gnawed with mistry to the bone, with her character villified every- 
where by the flippant puppies and arrogant bloekheais of an empire whose 
rule she has persistently spumed, and whose persecution she has unconquer- 
ably defied — proud do I feel that, de-pite of all her sorrows and humilia- 
tions, despite of all the calamities, ail the slanders, all the opprobrium 
with which she has been visited, the sympathies of the good and great of 
this Republic are with her, and that in the chivalrous manifestation "of 
these sympathies, with the same heart tbat in the darkest hour was the 
life and illumination of a vast army, the best beloved and foremost of its 
generals leads the way. Prompt as he has been in coming to-day to the 
rescue of Ireland with his sword in the sheath, I well know that no one would 
be readier than the young and gifted organizer of the Army of the Poto- 
mac, should events legitimately give him the chance, to render Ireland, 
after another lashion, a more lasting and nobler relief. 

"Mr. Mayor, and gentlemen, in speaking as I have done, I feel fully 
justified in saying that 1 nave spoken tlie sentiments of all that re- 
mains of the Irish Brigade, and it is with perfect truthfulness I beg 
y,ou to believe, that, had the paymaster been around lately, I should 
have been made the bearer of a substantial proof of the compa- 
ssionate and generous love with which the Irish soldier, fighting the 

31 



482 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

battles of the United States, never ceases to think of the land that bore 
him, and the claims which her misfortunes, as well as her grandest aspira- 
tions, have sacredly and sternly imposed upon him. Let the poor, the ragged, 
the famishing of Ireland, take the assurance to their wearied hearts, that 
never for a day, never at any moment, never in any scene, whether stormy 
or becalmed, has the Irish soldier — righteously and magnanimously assert- 
ing the authority of the United Srates, and the honor, the inviolability, the 
magnificent symbolism of the national flag — never once has the Irish sol- 
dier lost sight of the mountains on which his eyes first opened, never once 
failed to hear the musical rushing of the waters that lulled him in his 
cradle, never once was so overclouded that his heart did not reflect in i:s 
depths that lone star which shines with inextinguishable fire in the daikest 
segment of the European sky." 

General Meagher returned to the camp at Falmouth, Va., on the 26th of 
April, and was notified by General Hancock, on the following morniug to 
report to him personally for orders, preparatory to joining his command at 
one of the fords of the Rappahannock — where the headquarters of the Irish 
Brigade was established. 

On the afternoon of the 29th, a pencilled notification, written on a small 
scrap of paper, was received by General Meagher. The following is a copy 
thereof — taken directly from the original : — 

"Apr. 29, '63, 3.30 p. M. 
" General — 

"I have taken the 116th Pa. and 2Sth with me. Mr. Whiteford knowa 
the road. As soon as it is well dark you will join me at U. S. Ford witn 
your whole command — save the company at Banks' Ford and the picket 
at England's. 

"You need not wait for any further orders after dark. Be careful of 
this paper. By order of Maj.-Gen. Hancock. 

"John Hancock, 

"Maj. and A. A. G." 

By the time General Meagher proceeded to carry out these instructions, 
the whole immense Army of the Potomac was in motion to pass the liap- 
pahannock. General Hooker's passage of that river in the face of Lee's vigi- 
lent army, was a most masterly military movement. Making a powerful De- 
monstration on the right of the enemy — (below Fredericksburg) — he called 
their attention in that direction, and then made a sudden cavalry dash at 
the fords above the town, gaining possession of Kelly's Ford above the con- 



AT CHANCELLORSVILE. 483 

fluence of the Rapidan, and throwing the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps across 
at that point. These troops moved rapidiy to Ely's and the Germania Fords 
across the Rapidan, and by noon on Friday, May 1st, there were in posi- 
tion at and about Chancellorsville, the whole of the Second, Third, Fifth, 
Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, prepared to confront the Confederates, who, 
about two o'clock that afternoon were seen advancing in strong force from 
the east. 

To the series of desperate engagements which occurred on that and the 
four succeeding days — and which are known in history as the "Battle of 
Chancellorsville, 1 ' I do not purport to refer — save to the part which General 
Meagher and his command had therein. 

On the march to the United States Ford the Irish Brigade constituted 
the extreme left of the Second Army Corps. They crossed the river by 
moonlight on the night of April 30 *h, and picketed for the night at its 
southern side; commanding a ford near the main road from Fredericksburg 
to Richmond. On the next day the Brigade were ordered to proceed to a 
place called Scott's Mills — a ford within a few miles of Chancellorsville, 
where they arrived at 10 o'clock that night. As this was an important po- 
sition, and exposed by by-road to the left wing of the enemy's lines. Gen- 
eral Meagher threw out pickets, loop-holed the mill asd out-buildings and 
garrisoned them effectively. In front of his position he had a battery of 
six guns. 

The brigade remained all that ni«ht and the next day, (Saturday, May 
2d.) defending the ford. At about 8 o'clock on Saturday morning, the ter- 
rific firing in their front, towards Chancellorsville, indicated the commence- 
ment of a desperate engagement, which continued without intermission until 
at 3 P. M. the Confederate fire, both of cannon and musketry, became so 
destructive, that the Eleventh Army Corps (mostly composed of German 
troops,) broke before it, and in spite of the efforts of their commander,— 
the gallant General Howard, — to rally them — fled panic-stricken in the direc- 
tion of Gordonsville, abandoning their cannon, ammunition and wagons. 
To intercept the fugitives, as they came rushing along towards his position, 
General Meagher threw a line across the road and into the wood at Scott's 
Mills, and the " Brigade boys" — bringing their bayonets to a charge — the 
runaways, finding their retreat cut off by men more dreaded as antagonists 
than even Stonewall Jackson's pursuing columns, had, perforce, to come to 
a halt — face about— and rejoin the army — whose safety their shameful 
cowardice had seriously imperilled. 



4S4 3iEAL02i:S OF GEX. TBOUAS FBAXCIS 2l£AGM£B. 

Thus did the men of the Irish Brigade enact the scene of Gaine's Hill 
over again ; and by their opportune presence at this critical moment, and 
their indomitable resolution — prevent a temporary panic from degenerating 
into an utter and irremediable rout. 

About 8 o'clock on Sunday morning, May 3d, General Meagher received 
orders to advance the brigade to the front, to support the Fifth Maine 
Battery. This battery was placed at the opening of the wood commanding 
the plain towards Chancellorsvllle. It was well worked, and did good exe- 
cution; for not until all the men and horses were killed or wounded did it 
cease firing 

As the Brigade, with its General at its head, marched through the 
woods under a shower of shot, shell, and broken branches, they were 
greeted with loud and repeated cheers from the columns that lined tneir 
way. 

The General had several narrow escapes from being killed while on this 
march through the woods; on one occasion a shell burst behind him, on 
ground he had just passed over, killing one of his men and wounding three. 
As the Brigade were for nearly two hours in the woods, it was surpris- 
ing that its casualties were not much greater than they actually were. 
When they arrived in sight of the battery they were sent to relieve, they 
found it in charge of but Corpoial H. Le broke and one private, who, find- 
ing themselves unable to work the guns, had just blown up the caissons. 
At this moment the brigade came up, formed line, and dashed into the 
open plain — pouring one destructive volley on the enemy. — (who were ad- 
vancing to seize the guns) — and driving them back in confusion. Some of 
the men fell, but under the orders of General Meagher, a detachment of 
the HGth Pennsylvania Regiment, commanded by JJajor Mulholland, seized 
the ropes and dragged off the guns into the woods — thus rendering effec- 
tive service to the - Union cause, for, had the Confederates seized the battery 
and turned it upon the Federal army, — several regiments of which, on the 
right and left, were giving way — a regular panic might have ensued. 

As the Brigade reached the plain with the rescued guns, General Han- 
cock rode up to General Meagher, and, very emphatically, called out — 
" General Meagher ! you command the retreat." 

The Brigade was next stationed in a wood to the left of what was 
known as the "White-House," where they were engaged all that Sunday- 
night and Monday-morning in throwing up a strong line of breast-works 
on the right and left, which, being strongly lined with troops, the position 
was deemed almost impregnable. 



PARTING ADDRESS. 



The enemy's batteries continued to shell the woods all through Monday, 
killing and wounding many of the Union soldiers. One of those shells 
killed Captain John C. Lynch of the 63d Regiment — the only officer of the 
Irish Brigade slain at Chancellorsville. Another of those destructive missiles 
struck a tree in close proximity to General Meagher. 

The total casualties of the brigade in killed and wounded at the battle 
of Chancellorsville amounted to fifty, of whom one officer was killed and 
five wounded. 

On Wednesday, May 6th, the Union Army re-crossed the Rappahannock, 
and the several commands returned to their old camps. 

The battle of Chancellorsville was the last engagement in which Gen- 
eral Meagher participated with his glorious Irish Brigade. For, no reply 
having up to that time been vouchsafed to his memorial to the Secretary 
of War, he could not in self-respct — or in justice to his command submit 
any longer to the treatment to which both were subjected by the official 
dictators of the War Department — Stanton and Halleck. 

Accordingly, on his leturn to camp, he promptly wrote his letter of 
resignation, as Commanaer of the Irish Brigade — which was as promptly 
accepted. On the evening of the day on which he received the curt official 
missive announcing the acceptance of his resignation, General Meagher assem- 
bled his little command for the purpose of taking leave of them, and bid- 
ding them, each and all, an affectionate good-bye. The occasion was one 
never to be foi gotten by the participants in or witnesses of the proceedings. 
The Brigade was formtd into a hollow square — the General and his staff 
in the centre — with his esteemed friend, the gallant Brigadier- General Cald- 
well, and other visitors. 

The band of the Fourteenth Connecticut was also present, and furnished 
most appropriate music for the occasion. 

After the troops had been formed, and the band had performed an 
appropriate piece ol mu^ic. the General acdiessta his command as follows: — 

GENERAL ^lEAGHEE'S PARTING ADDRESS. 

" To my Officers akd Soldiers, my Countrymen and Comrades in Arms 

" A posi ive conviction cf what I owe to your reputation, to the honoi 
of our race, and to my cvu conscience, compelled me a few days ago to 
tender the President of the United States my resignation of this command. 



486 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

1 shall not recapitulate the reasons which induced me and justified me to 
do so. It would be superfluous. There is not a man in this command who 
is not fully aware of the reasons which compelled me to resign, and there 
is not a man who does not thoroughly appreciate and aprove it. 

" Suffice it to say that, the Irish Brigade no longer existing, I felt that 
it would be perpetuating a great deception were I to retain the authority 
and rank of brigadier-general nominally commanding the same. I therefore 
conscientiously, though most reluctantly, resigned my command. That resig- 
nation has been accepted, and as your general I now bid you an affectionate 
farewell. 

" I cannot do so, however, without leaving on record the assurance of 
the happiness, the gratiiude, the pride with which I revert to the first days 
of the Irish Brigade, when it struggled in its infancy, and was sustained 
alone by its native strength and instincts, and retrace from the field, where 
it first displayed its brilliant gallantry, all the efforts, all the hardships, 
all the* privations, all the sacrifices which have made its history — brief 
though it be — sacred and inestimable. Sharing with the humblest soldier 
freely and heartily all the hardships and dangers of the battle-field — never 
having ordered an advance that I did not take the lead myself — I thank 
God that I have been spared to do justice to those whose heroism deserves 
from me a grateful commemoration, and that I have been preserved to bring 
comfort to those who have lost fathers, husbands and brothers, in the sol- 
diers who have fallen for a noble govern meat under the green flag. 

"My life has bten a varied one, and I have passed through many dis- 
tracting scenes. But never has the river that flowed beside my cradle, 
never have the mountains that overlooked the paths of my childhood, never 
have the old walls that claimed the curiosity and research of maturer days, 
been effaced from my memory. As at first — as in nature — the beautiful 
and glorious picture is indellible. Not less vivid, not less ineffaceable, will 
be the recollection of my companionship with the Irish Brigade in the 
service of the United States. The graves of many hundreds of brave and 
devoted soldiers, who went to death with all the radiance and enthusiasm 
of the noblest chivalry, are so many guarantees and pledges that, so long 
as there remains one officer or one soldier of the Irish Brigade, so long 
shall there be found for him, for his family and little ones, if any there 
be, a devoted friend in 

" Thomas Francis Meagher." 

At the conclusion of the address nine enthusiastic cheers were given for 



HONORS TO GENERAL MEAGHER IN NEW YORK. 4S7 

General Meagher, after which the commissioned officers came forward and 
shook hands with him, bidding him an affectionate and tearful farewell. 
The General then passed along the lines, and shook hands with every sol- 
dier, saying a "good-bye" and a "God bless you" to each one separately. 
Both officers and men were affected to tears, and the separation was a truly 
painful one to all conctrned. 

Colonel Patrick Kelly, of the Eighty-eighth Regiment, then assumed 
command of the Brigade, as the senior officer, and dismissed the column. 
At the conclusion of the public leave-taking, the officers met at the Gen- 
eral's old head-quarters, where refreshments were served, and a couple of 
hours spent in rehearsing the incidents that had transpired in the history 
of the Irish Brigade. 

General Meagher returned to New York on the 29th of May. Previous 
to his departure from the camp he was presented with " farewell addresses" 
from the officers and soldiers of the Brigade. These addresses are given at 
length in the "Appendix." 



CHAPTER LXVII. 



HONORS TO GENERAL MEAGHER IN NEW YORK. 

Presented with the "Kearny Cross." — Formally Enrolled in the 
Fenian Brotherhood. — Ppesident Lincoln's Dispatch. — Gen- 
eral French's Letter. — General Meagher 
in Tennessee. 

Before General Meagher's return to New York, the Municipal Govern- 
ment of that city passed resolutions "directing the Committee on National 
Affairs of the Common Council to proffer him the hospitalities of the city, 
as a token of the esteem in which he was held by the people of the 
metropolis— speaking through their representatives, and as an evidence of their 
recognition of the invaluable services rendered by him and the heroic men 
of the Irish Brigade in defence of the integrity of the Union." 



4SS MEM01BS OF GEX, THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER 

In accordance with those resolutions, the Committee on National Affairs, 
headed by Mayor Opdyke and Alderman Farley, waited on General Meagher, 
by appointment, at the Astor House, on June 16th, when the Mayor presented 
the General with an official copy of the resolutions, and, in a brief but 
effective speech, formally tendered him the hospitalities of the city. , 

General Meagher, in response, read an address in which he recited the 
reasons which compelled him to resign his command of the Irish Brigade, 
stated that in taking leave of the army under such urg< nr. circumstances, 
he did not absolve himself from his obligations to the Republic, nor did 
his sworn devotion to its fortunes undergo the slightest change. He said 
that when the war was over, and the Constitution restored throughout the 
Union, it would delight him to parricipate, with the survivors of the Irish 
Brigade, in the honors and hospitalities which, in their absence, he then 
gratefully declined. 

Presentation of the Kearny Cross. 

Alderman Farley then, addressing General Meagher, said that in his capa- 
city of Chairman of the Committee on National Affairs, he had been requested 
by General D. B. Bimey to present him with the '"Kearny Cross," in 
token of his appreciation by that noble commander. 

General Meagher accepted the Cross in a feeling speech — in which he 
said that he had the privilege of being on terms of honored intimacy with 
that gallant soldier, General Kearny, who took a friendly and cordial inter- 
est in the welfare and reputation of the Irish Brigade; that it had been 
decided by Major-General Bimey, now commanding Kearny's old division, 
and the other officers holding commissions in it, that, as the friend and 
comrade of General Kearny, he should be invited to wear this military 
decoration, known throughout the Army of the Potomac as the "Kearny 
Cross," and that he should wear it proudly and most gratefully. 

The Cross tnus presented was of solid silver with the buckles and clasp 
of pure gold, with a heavy scarlet ribbon. It was inscribed on the obverse: — 

"To Generai Meagher of the Irish Brigade. 
Kearny's Friend and Comrade of the Old Division." 
And on the reverse: — 

"Birney's Division." 

General aieagher Enrolled in the Fenian Brotherhood. 
Though, immediately before the outbreak of the civil war, Meagher had 



ENROLED IX THE FEENIAN BROTHERHOOD. 489 

determined to become actively affiliated with the Fenian Brotherhood organ- 
ization, yet, not until his resignation from the military service of the United 
States did he formally enrol himself in the ranks of the Irish revolutionary 
society. Soon after his return to New York from Virginia, he wrote to 
John O'Mahony from his country residence in Orange, New Jersey, iuvitting 
him to spend a day with him there, as he desired to become an initiated 
member of the Brotherhood without further deiay, and also that he wishad 
to have a long and uninterrupted consultation with him on a subject that 
was likely to exercise an important influence on the Irish national cause, — 
namely — the strained relations which then existed between the Government 
of the United States and that of England— resulting from the seizure and 
condemnation of the steamship Circassian — an English blockade-runner. 

Meagher believed that, from the tenor of the dispatches between the 
two goveri ments, and his positive knowledge of President Lincoln's determi- 
nation to maintain the dignity of the nation at all hazards, war between 
the two countries was certain to result — unless England receded from her 
arrogant attitude. In view of this hopeful prospect, he proposed that an 
offer be made the Government (in case of a rupture,) " to raise a body of 
Irish troops for service in Ireland, and which, of course, would be com- 
manded by experienced Irish officers.'' 

In compliance with General Meagher's invitation, Mr. O'Mahony went 
to Orange on the day after its receipt, and then and there, administered 
the ''Pledge of Initiation*' into the Brotherhood. Upon the other matters 
that transpired at that meeting it is unnecessary to dwell at present, as 
the war-cloud, upon the bursting of which so much of their hopes were 
based, turned out to be an ordinary wind-gust, which, after much bluster, 
passed away harmlessly, though leaving unpleasant feelings behind it. 

Notwithstanding the ungenerous treatment General Meagher and his 
Brigade received at the hands of the War Department officials, President 
Lincoln always entertained the highest esteem and most kindly feelings for 
the gallant Irish soldier. That their confidential relations were close after 
Meagher's retirement from the army, may be inferred from the following 
dispatch — the original of which is carefully preserved among the General's 
private papers : — 

Dispatch from President Lincoln. 

" Y\ ashington, June 16, 18G3. 
"To Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher, 

" 129 5th Avenue, N. Y. 

"Your dispatch received. Shall be very glad for you to raise three 



490 MEMOIRSOF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

thousand (3,000) Irish troops, if done by the consent of and in concert 
with Governor Seymour. 

U A. Lincoln." 

As the date of the foregoing communication closely corresponds with 
the time of John O'Mahony's consultation with General Meagher at Orange, 
there can be little doubt, — on my mind at all events — as to its meaning. 

General Meagher resided in New York for the remainder of the year 
1863, during which time he made frequent visits to the head-quarters of 
the Fenian Brotherhood. When the first convention of the Fenian Brother- 
hood was announced to be held in Chicago, in November of that year, 
General Meagher was elected one of the delejates to represent the Brother- 
hood in the Army of the Potomac. He had made arrangements with John 
0*Mahony to be in Chicago in time for the opening of the convention, but 
was called to Washington before the date appointed for his departure on his 
western journey. On his return to New York he sent the following dispatch 
from the Fenian Brotherhood office : — 

"New York. Nov. 4, 1863. 
"John O'Mahony. Fenian Hall. Chicago. 

"Had to go to Washington on call of War Department. The call impe- 
rative. Have to go again on Saturday. Will proceed to the Army from 
Washington next w e^k. I heartily concur in plan and regulations of reor- 
ganization as proposed by you, with such modifications as the Convention 
adopts. 

" Fraternity and harpiness and honor to all. 

"Thos. Francis Meagher." 

John O'Mahony acted as General Meagher's proxy at the Convention. 

General French's Letter to Meagher. 

Belore General Meagher's visit to the army he received the following 
letter from his old comrade-in-aims. the veteran General French. I have 
found it among his private papers, and copy it to show the cordial fraternal 
feelings that existed between those gallant soldiers of the Union: — 

"Head-quarters Third Army Corps, i 

September 2d, 1863. J 

"My dear General. — 

"I would have said "my dear Meagher." 1 but feared you would for 

one moment think you were not expected back to some of those who still 

survive (few,) wishing to stand again side by side in this holy war. 



VISITS HIS OLD COMRADES. 491 

" Our mutual friend, Doctor Reynolds, gave to me the only satisfactory 
account of yourself. You know how glad I am always to hear of you, 
and as it gave me great pleasure to meet again one to whom you were so 
much attached, and who was a reminder of historic events (a short way 
iu the past.) and as I am encamped not far distant lrom your ;i Druid 
Oaks and Bower," and my (as you complimentarily designated it) — '-Hen 
Boost." Our campaign to Rappahannock Station under the noble and high- 
toned Sumner, I am writing upon those reminiscences. There are others 
which can take care of themselves. 

'• With the friendliest wish that you may be happy at home until your 
call for the field will bring your brilliant talents again to the front, 
" I remain, very sincerely your frieud, 

'•Wm. H. French, Maj.-Gen. V. 
" Gen. Thomas Francis Meaghek, New York." 

The General Visits his Old Comrades. 

Towards the close of [November, General Meagher paid his lon^-expected 
visit to his old Brigade, and was received by both officers and men with 
every demonstration of esteem and affection. The Brigade were under orders 
to march at seven o'clock the following morning, as the army was about 
crossing th j Rapidan. The General marched with them all day, and was 
loudly cheered by the several brigades who recognized him in passing. His 
reception, by his old comrades throughout the armv was most cordial and 
enthusiastic. He recrossed the Rapidan with them, and then went on to 
Fairfax Court House on a visit to General Corcoran. He remained there as 
the General's guest until the 22d of December, when he proceeded to Fair- 
fax Siation — on his way to Washington, where he was to meet General 
Corcoran's mother-in-law. Mrs. Meagher and other ladies, whom General 
Corcoran had invited to spend the -Christmas holidays with him. Genera \ 
Corcoran accompanied General Meagher to Fairfax with a cavalry escort 
and several officers of the Irish Legion. The friends shook hands at the 
station and parted — their last parting in life. Alas! for the cause and the 
land they loved and served so faithfully and so well! 

On the 22d of January. 1864. just one month after General Corcoran's 
sad death, General Meagher delivered that noble tribute to his loving com- 
patriot's memory which I have embodied in a previous chapter of this Me- 
moir, and which will forever connect the names of both in the grateful 
hearts of the twin-nations of the Gael. 



MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 



General Meagher in Tennessee. 

In the Autumn of 1S64, President Lincoln appointed Brigadier-General 
Meagher to an important position in the Provisional Division of the Army 
of the Tennessee, with instructions to report to M'jor-General James B. 
Steadman, at the head-quarters of the District of the E-owah — Chattanooga. 

In the month succeeding that of his arrival at his new post. General 
Steadman was called by General Thomas to Nashville, Tenn ; and, previous 
to his departure he issued an Order, assigning General Meagher to the com- 
mand of the Military District of Etowah during his absence, with his head- 
quarters at Chattanooga. Acting-Major-General Meagher's force consisted of 
twelve thousand infantry, two regiments of cavalry, several batteries of field 
artillery, and a large number of heavy guns in position on the strong works de- 
fending Chattanooga. In addition to this formidable force, he organized a Civic 
Guard of two thousand men in Chattanooga city, and so admirable was his 
administration of the affairs of the District, and so effectually did he pro- 
tect the public property from the depredations of the guerillas with which 
the country swarmed, that he received the highest encomiums from General 
Steadman, on that officer's reassuming command of the Department. 

It was contemplated that General Meagher should join General Sherman 
on his " march to the sea,"' with a strong force of veterans, composed of 
detachments from the 15th and 17th Army Corps. But Meagher had no 
liking for the method of warfare which the exigencies of the situation led 
Sherman to adopt. In eulogizing the soldiers of the Irish Brigade at his 
reception by the Municipal authorities of New York, he proudly said: — 

" In moments of excitement they never gave way to the excesses which 
for the most part disfigure and shamefully blot the records of the grandest 
victories. The houses, cattle, gardens, corn-fields and other property of 
insurgent families, who had abandoned them to the mercy of the nation, 
as well as all the goods and chattels belonging to families who stood their 
ground, were respected by the men of the Irish Brigade, who went out 
from here to fight and put down the armed enemies of the Bepublic, and 
not to cast naked and breadless on the world, the women and children and 
aged fathers of the delinquent States." 

Actuated by these principles, General Meagher did not join Sherman on 
his famous "march," but resigned, and returned to his home in New York. 



-CLOSING SCENES. 493 



Closing Scenes. 

General Meagher's military career ended with his return from Ten- 
nessee. Within two moths thereafter, the country was horrified by the news 
of President Lincoln's assassination. Among the many manifestations of 
public feeling in relation to that awful calamity that transpired in the Me- 
tropolis, was a meeting of the Irish Brigade at the Astor House, at which 
General Meagher presided, and resolutions of sympathy with the general 
feeling of the nation in relation to the murder, were adopted. 

General Meagher's last public appearance in New York was at a banquet 
given in Irving Hall on the Fourth of July, 1865, to the returned soldiers 
of the Irish Brigade. A few days subsequently, the President, Andrew 
Johnson, tendered him the Secretaryship of the Territory of Montana, which 
he accepted. 

On the day before he left New York for his new sphere of duty, he 
■called at the Fenian Brotherhood office to bid '• good-bye" to John O'Mahony 
and some other friends there. Among those present on that occasion was 
his old aid-de-camp, Captain John D. Hearn, whom the General urged to 
accompany him to Montana, — but as the Captain was then about proceed- 
ing to Ireland on special duty, he felt compelled to decline the friendly 
offer. [He, however, tejoined the General on his return from Ireland in the 
following year.] 

It was on that day that I last saw Thomas Francis Meagher. It was 
more than seventeen years since our first interview in Dublin. We parted 
in good spirits — hopeful for the future as ever. 

The Gei oral arrived at his destination in the beginning of October, 1S65, 
and. owing to the absence from the Territory of the Governor, the duties 
of Acting-Governor devolved upon the Secretary. It was an onerous office, 
with all the responsibilities and annoyances of the governorship, but with- 
out its compensating rewards. Meagher was never fitted to deal with tricksy 
politicans, — they were a class he always despised and detested. But during 
his whole career in Montana he had to contend with such selfish intriguers; 
but he faced them with his characteristic resoluteness of purpose, and did 
his duty to the people he ruled over with firmness and discretion. His chief 
compensation for the annoyances to which he was subjected, was derived 
from the contemplation of the magnificent scenery through which he traveled 
In connection with his official duties. Here his wonderful powers of descrip- 



494 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FEANCIS MEAGHER. 

tion found full scope for their development; and in a series of papers 
entitled " Rides Through Montana,*' written for Harper's publications, he did 
justice to the natural beauties of that wonderful country. 

Nor was he forgetful meanwhile of a fairer and dearer land, as will be 
seen by the following letter written three weeks before his death, in reply 
to an invitation from the Fenian Brotherhood of San Francisco, to attend a 
reunion of the Irish Nationalists of that city and vicinity : — 

"Virginia City, Montana, June 7th, 1867. 

"To John Hamill, State Centre. 

''Sir, — I did not receive yours of May 30th until my return yesterday 
from camp, three days' ride from here. I am most grateful for your invi- 
tation, and proud of it. I fear greatly that I cannot be with you. Gov- 
ernor Smith won't be here till the middle of July, and it is uncertain when 
Secretary TufFts will arrive. I can't leave till either comes, the organic 
act not providing for any one taking my place in their absence; hence I 
am detained here, much to my vexation. 

" God speed the Irish nation to liberty and power ! " 

"Thomas Francis Meagher, 

" Secretary and Acting-Governor." 

I would fain end my labor of love with this, his latest recorded testi- 
mony of his devotion to Ireland. On the particulars of his death — which 
occurred on the 1st of July, 1867, at Fort Benton — I have no heart to 
enter. All that is known of them will be found in the Appendix— mainly 
in the Funeral Oration of his life-long friend, Kichard O'Gorman. 

God Best his Soul! 

"And be thou his ceaseless "caoiner" — mournful wind — 
For ne'er a nobler heart — 
World-seeing though thou art 
In all thy boundless kingdom &hait thou find." 



IN MEMOBIAM. 495 



IN MEMORIAM, T. F. M. 



Among the many encouraging manifestations of the indestructible spirit 
of Irish Nationality, which, apart from the various phases of political agi- 
tation, tend to show how deeply the vital principle has permeated the heart 
of the old race at home, the earnest determination of the present genera- 
tion to rescue from oblivion the memory of their patriot dead is one of 
the most beautifully touching in sentiment, as well as one of the most 
practical and effective methods of perpetuating the principles embodied in 
the national creed, of which the commemorated were the Confessors or the 
Martyrs. 

Heretofore too many of Ireland's best and bravest, her most earnest 
and self-sacrificing, have been consigned to unknown or forgotten graves, — 
their names and deeds buried with them, or only preserved in the traditions 
or songs of the people for whom they labored in life — or died that their 
cause might live. 

Wiser than their forefathers — in their methods of testifying their devo- 
tion to the patriots of their own day, the hereditary descendants of gener- 
ations of '• Rebels "'(?) have, — despite the frowns of the tyrant or the sneers 
of his obsequious slaves, nobly dared to perform their duty to the dead by 
the erection of some lasting testimonial to their memory, — be it a statue 
in the city thoroughfare or a " Celtic Cross " in the rural church-yard. 

And not alone are Ireland's illustrious sons — those whose deeds are 
fresh in the recollections of their living associates — or whose glory is 
reflected in the pages of her chequered history — being thus honored by the 
true men of to-day. While the statues of Grattan, O'Connell and O'Brien 
occupy the most conspicuous sites in the Metropolis, within the shadow of 
the lofty tower that marks the grave of the " Great Ttibune," there 
stands the •• Celtic Cross," recalling to future generations the memory of 
those " Noble-Hearted Three," whose calcined bones moulder in the 
accursed soil of their murderer. While in Limerick, Patrick Sarsfield's 
heroic statue commemorates the brave who fought and fell by the lordly 
Shannon, — the symbol of Irish Faith and self-sacrifice erected by pious 
hands on Oulart Hill evokes a prayer for the souls of the nameless 
heroes, who, by the gentle oianey, fell in a holier cause than that of a 
coward king. 



496 MEMOIRS OF GEN. THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER 

" The Peasant Soldier of Kilcloony Wood,*' resting beside his humble 
kith and kin, has his name and his worth enshrined in the hearts of the 
people, who, in thousands, kneel and pray around the '■ Cross" that records 
the story of his life and death. And so, in every quarter of the land they 
loved, the patriots of our day are honored by their appreciative cotempo- 
raries, and their deeds recorded as an incentive and an example to future 
generations to follow in their path with an assurance of their memories 
being, likewise, kept '• green." 

Yet, with all these encouraging evidences of the national appreciation 
of the people's representative men, is it not unaccountable, that the claims 
of Thomas Francis Meagher to some public testimonial to his memory 
have, thus far, been suffered to remain in abeyance. 

Though the obligation to so honor the illustrious patriot is national in 
its extent, it more especially devolves upon the true men of his native city. 
They, undoubtedly, take a commendable pride in his having been a " Water- 
ford man." They, rightfully, assume that the glory of his renown consti- 
tutes a portion of their civic heritage, and sheds its refulgence over city, 
hill and river — so lamiliar and dear to his joyous childhood and glowing 
youth, and so treasured in his loviDg heart and retentive memory to the 
latest moment of his existence. 

But, notwithstanding all that, it must be a humiliating fact for the 
patriotic men of Waterford to ponder on — that, — a quarter of a century 
after Thomas Francis Meagher's death — (save his portrait and the other 
mementoes of his fame which adorn their Municipal hall — and which are 
the gifts of his noble American-born widow to the city of his birth.)— no 
visible testimonial of their love, admiration or gratitude — no statue in the 
city, no obeiisk on the hill, not even a ''Celtic Cross" in fane or church- 
yard, commemorates his genius, his patriotism, his bravery, his boundless 
love and self-sacrificing devotion — not alone in Waterford city or county, 
but within the "'Five seas of Ireland!" 

Surely this strange apathy has lasted over long. 

If the ''Popular Leaders" and local magnates of Waterford are too much 
absorbed in what they ueeni "practical politics" to afford a thought to 
''meie sentiment," suieiy, there must be some one amoi.g the working men 
of that historic old city — ardent, able and resolute, who will appeal to 
his fellow-toilers to assume the initiation in this bounden duty — of raising 
on Irish soil, a fitting testimonial to the memory of the People's Champion — 

Thomas Francis Meagher. 



APPENDIX, 



GENERAL MEAGHER. 

MEETING OF THE IRISH BRIGADE OFFICERS. —RESOLUTIONS OF 
THE FENIAN BROTHERHOOD. 



The officers of the Irish Brigade met at the Astor House, on mesday 
evening, August 13, for the purpose of making final arrangements for tak- 
ing part in the obsequies of the late Gen. T. F. Meagher, which was cele- 
brated on Wednesday morning, 14th instant, by a solemn requiem high 
mass, at St. Francis Xavier's Church, and by a memorial oration, delivered 
in the evening, in the Cooper Institute, by Richard O'Gorman, Esq. Dele- 
gates were also in attendance from the Knights of St. Patrick and from 
the Fenian Brotherhood, the latter being conference committees from their 
respective organizations, present by invitation, to ascertain what the ar- 
rangements would be for tomorrow's ceremonial. Colonel James Kelly acted 
as chairman, and Capt. Charles J. Clark as secretary. 

The Fenian resolutions were then read and ordered to be spread on the 
minutes, as follows : 

At a meeting of the delegates of the Fenian Brotherhood, held on the 
10th inst., the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: 

Whereas — We have learned with profound regret of the death of General 
Meagher while engaged in the service of his adopted country; and 

Whereas — It is proper that we, who are combined for the purpose of 
liberating Ireland from the yoke of England, and maintaining a free inde- 
pendent government of the Irish soil, should give expression to the grief we 
feel at the loss of one whose name is associated with the cause. 

Resolved — That we deeply deplore the death of General Thomas Francis 
Meagher, who brought at an early age to the service of his native land a 
brilliant genius, a gifted mind and an uncompromising fidelity, and who, 
either as an orator, inspiring, in immortal language, enthusiasm into the 
national ranks and denouncing British oppression, or as a deputy to the 
French nation, or in the dock, acted with ability, credit and fortitude the 
part of the Irish patriot. 

Resolved — That we sympathize with Ireland on this sad event, and with 
the American people, who generously welcomed him to their shores. 



APPENDIX. 



Resolved — That we tender the expressions of our condolence to the Irish 
Brigade, in whose campaigns he shared, and whose chivalry and bravery he 
has so eloquently recorded. 

Resolved — That we extend our profound sympathy to the family of Gen- 
eral Meagher in this their hour of affliction. 

Besolved — That a copy of the above resolutions be sent to Mrs. Meagher, 
and also published in the newspapers of the cities of New York, Bostou and 
Waterford, Ireland. 

Walter J. M. O'Dwyer, 
Henry T. Carroll, 
Manus McNulty, 
Denis CKSullivan, 
William O'Connell, 

Committee on Btsolutions. 



OBSEQUIES OF GENERAL MEAGHER. 

KEQUIEM MASS AT THE CHURCH OF. ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. — ELO- 
QUENT ORATION BY RICHARD OGORMAN. 



Ou the morning of Wednesday, August the 14th, a large congregation 
assembled in the Church of St. Francis Xavier, Sixteenth street, to witness 
the requiem mass for the late Thomas Francis Meagher. The officers of the 
Irish Brigade, who had charge of the obsequies, were present in large num- 
bers, and each was distinguished by a sprig of box, as a memento of their 
engagement at Fredricksburg, in which they participated. The admission to 
the edifice was by tickets, and shortly before the ceremonies commenced 
every pew was occupied, and the porch was thronged with visitors, who 
arrived too late to obtain seats. Among those present were Colonel James 
Kelly, Colonel Kavanagh, General Berger, Colonel Gleeson, Captain Condon, 
Major Haverty, Captain 'Dempsey, Captain Keeffe, Captain Stacom, and others. 
A detachment of the Sixty-ninth regiment was also present in uniform. 

The drapery of the church was in harmony with the sad occasion, the 
altar, galleries, pulpit and organ chamber being hung with " solemn black," 
in the center of which were emblems of mortality and redemption. A mem- 
orial catafalque was placed near the sanctuary. 

At half-past nine o'clock the services commenced with the usual proces- 
sion from the sacristy, after which the Rev. Mr. Lory sung the requiem 
mass, Rev. Fathers Hudson and Therry acting respectively as deacon and 
sub-deacon, and Mr. Betencour as master of ceremonies. The music con- 



APPENDIX. 



sisted of Cherubim's requiem mass, which was excellently sung. At the 
offertory the Salutaris, of Wehli, was finely rendered. 

The services closed with the Libera in which the Kev. Mr. Loyzan offi- 
ciated, after which the audience dispersed. 

Cooper Institute Meeting. — Grand Eulogy by Eiciiard O'Gorman. 

In the evening a large audience assembled in the Cooper Institute to 
hear an eulogy on the late General Meagher by Richard O'Gorman. The 
platform was occupied by officers of all the Irish regiments in the city, 
and the representatives of the various civic societies, including the Fenian 
Brotherhood. A variety of Celtic and American flags were conspicuously dis- 
played on either side of the rostrum — a portrait of the late General 
Meagher being in the centre. 

At 8 o'clock Mr. O'Gorman, who was loudly cheered when he appeared, 
spoke as follows : 

Mr. O'Gorman's Oration. 

The funeral rites have all been duly performed. The bell has tolled. 
The solemn mass for the dead has been sung. The melancholy strains of 
the " Dies Irse," saddest of all utterances of human woe, still linger in the 
hearts of all that sorrowing throng who, this morning, knelt before the 
altar, where, with all the pomp of its time-honored ceremonies, with sacrifice 
and prayer, the Church of Christ consigned the soul of its departed child 
to the forgiveness and mercy of Him who promised that He would be the 
resurrection and the life, and that every one that lived and believed in Him 
should not die forever. No higher honors, no heartier sorrow, no more 
earnest prayer could attend on its last journey the soul of the proudest 
lord on the earth than have followed what is eternal and immortal of him 
who, but a few weeks ago, was a living man, beloved and honored by us 
all, Thomas Francis Meagher. To me it seemed that in the ceremonies of 
the church this breathing world had bade him its most touching, most 
solemn farewell ; but there were some who wished that, before this day of 
mourning had gone by, before we had turned back to the every-day work 
of life, to its distractions, to its thousand cares and details that drowr 
memory and thought, some one of those who had known him longest and 
best, should say a word or two about him, and teach those who had met 
him but for a moment in the rough highway of life, how much of what 
was good and noble, and generous and heroic, was in this man whose name 
has for twenty years been frequent on men's lips, and whose memory will 
still be kept green in the souls of those who loved him, when those who 
may be disposed to judge him harshly now, shall be themselves, and all 
their doings shall be on trial before the hard tribunal of men's thoughts. 
He is gone. The pitiless Missouri, hurrying fast to the sea, has enwrapped 
him in a watery shroud, and dug him a lonely grave beneath its turbid 
waves. That matters little to him. He had faced death often on the bat- 
tlefield, where, in the press of continued conflict, the bodies of heroes lay 



APPENDIX. 



■unrecognized and unburied, or were placed in one common grave, friend and 
foe side by side, unknown and undistinguished in the bloody equality of 
Avar. He is gone. His journey of forty-three years, from the cradle to the 
grave, is done. His battle of life has been fought ; its strife and struggle are 
ended. It was not his. indeed, to succeed in the great objects for which 
he strove. He saw the wreck of many a cherished hope and many a daz- 
zling vision turned out but a waking dream. Yet his hopes were high 
hopes; his dreams were dreams such as good men dream, of increased free- 
dom and happiness to man. For these he dared in perilous times to raise 
voice and sword, and through all the vicissitudes of his life he bore himself 
like a man loyal to the good cause he first loved — the salvation of his 
native island and her people, faithful to the flag he followed — the flag of 
the Republic which gave him a welcome and a home; loyal and faithful not 
in seeming or in words alone, but in the deeds of earnest devotion and sac- 
rifice of self, wherein men put to hazzard what men most prize on earth, 
ease and pleasure, and liberty and life. How the old times come back to 
me when I think of him and of the scenes when first I met him. Old 
friends seem to throng around me again, and voices to whisper to me that 
have been silent for years. How well I remember that splendid hour — more 
than twenty golden years ago — when the intellect of Ireland awoke from its 
long torpor, and by voice and pen, in lesson and song, and legend of the 
past, spoke to the souls of the Irish people, and for awhile they dared to 
think and hope and strive for the redemption of their crushed and insulted 
island. For years the voice of the great Tribune, O'Connell. had thundered 
in the ears of the multitude his denunciation of that fatal act which had 
robbed Ireland of its independent existence, of its national Parliament, of all 
the bright hopes of prosperity and progress, which had grown up in the 
short, but brilliant, era of her legislative independence. He told us of the 
days when Flood and Grattan, with eloquence that shall live as long as 
the language in which they spoke, proclaimed the rights of the Irish Par- 
liament, and how one hundred thousand armed volunteers stood ready with 
their swords to make the declaration good. He told how. with miraculous 
rapidity, the slumbering power of the Irish nation awoke, and the fair form, 
so long bowed and soiled in sorrow, arose and smiled again in all her 
ancient beauty — an Island Queen. Then how the short and happy era 
passed like a sunny hour in a winter's day. and by fraud and force, by 
treachery as bad men resort to for bad ends, Ireland was robbed of her 
legal rights as an independent kingdom, and crushed and strangled and suf- 
focated in that fatal grasp, which knaves and fools did then call the Act 
of Union These things day after day O'Connell told to listening thousands, 
with all the tire of eloquence that was in him, till at last, as his voice 
grew bolder and more defiant, it found its way to the quiet balls where 
students poured over the dreams of sages. It entered there and stirred 
their souls, and they closed their books — the fatal books, that tell of Gre- 
cian valor ami Roman constancy, of great deeds done in the ancient days; 
the fatal books, that tell of heroic conflicts where weakness, armed for the 
right, bad done successful battle with the guilty strong, how men had 
risked laud and limb and life for the commonwealth in the brave days of 



APPENDIX. 



old. They closed them and laid them down, not as the prudent men do- 
in order to forget them and save their souls from the contagion of such 
examples; not for this, but that they might imitate them and put them to 
use, that they might themselves tread the same perilous path, and teach their 
people to save the island they loved. Of these young enthusiasts was in 
great part formed the party sometimes called " Young Ireland." They were 
honest, pure, unselfish, gallant men. They did wonders. They made a 
native literature which has survived them and will never die. They did 
create and foster a public opinion in Ireland and make it racy of the soil. 
Song, native and homefelt, gushed up at their bidding, as did of old in the 
the desert the life-giving waters when the rock was touched by the proph- 
et's wand. While the English language is spoken, these simple ballads will 
not be forgotten, but will be read and sung in cottage and palace all over 
the earth wherever beats in men's hearts the strong current of Irish blood. 
How can I think of them — how can I speak of r them without emotion — 
these simple, noble, true-hearted gentlemen among whom it is my pride to 
have had the least place. How many of them 1 have seen depart, one by one. 
How few of them remain, and now he that was the youngest and most 
brilliant of them all, he whom, when scarce out of boyhood, they wel- 
comed into their ranks with so glad a welcome, he in whom they hoped so 
much, he whom they all loved, not more for his genius, than for his sim- 
ple, fresh and genial nature, he, Thomas Francis Meagher, has followed them 
to that better land, where friends long parted fondly hope to meet again. 
Meagher was little more than twenty-two when his voice was first heard in 
a popular assemblage. From the first there was the ring of true eloquence 
in all he said. He was bold, direct and fearless. Others had caught up 
the harp of Ireland and taught it to awaken memories and hopes that long 
had slept. But Meagher's voice was as the trumpet blast to rouse the 
whole island and startle it into enterprise and action. His popularity was 
unbounded. He won all hearts and impressed all with the conscious- 
ness of his power, till we thought we heard in the voice of that inspired 
boy a magic as mighty as Grattan's, to fire the breast, convince the rea- 
son, and elevate the soul to that noble daring to which nothing is impos- 
sible. His career was as short as it was dazzling. O'Counell, worn out by 
years and labor, laid him down and died. 'The political machinery he had 
constructed fell into feeble hands and broke to pieces. All over the con- 
tinent of Europe the minds of men began to be stirred by an angry con- 
sciousness of wrong, and the people's wrath lav smouldering like a tire 
waiting for the breath that was to fan it into flame. It came. France, 
dishonored by a monarch who had dared to trifle with the instincts 
and pride of the French people, flew to arms and trampled throne and 
sceptre under its feet. Poland, Hungary, Italy, sprung up at the sig- 
nal. All over Europe, among the people long oppressed, went forth the 
cry " We will have no foreign masters. Our land is ours, and we will 
have it for our own." And Ireland — the Poland of the sea— Ireland, the 
most wretched of all — failing in every attempt to obtain from the British 
Parliament compliance with her prayers, is it wonderful that she, too, 
dreamt that her hour of deliverance was at hand, and that she could wring 



APPENDIX. 



from Britain, with the armed hand, that national self-government under 
which she had been once so happy? The hour seemed propitious. An 
European war was imminent, and it was not likely that England could keep 
aloof. The storm seemed gathering fast. In Ireland bold words had been 
spoken — it was time to put them to the test. Men began to ask "What 
will Meagher do? He who grandly aphostrophized 'the sword,' will he 
dare to try its metal now?" He did not shrink from the ordeal. He 
deemed himself in honor bound — himself to take for weal or for woe the 
risks he had invited others to assume. He threw himself among the peo- 
ple, ready to lead or to follow, as they pleased, going forth to face fearful 
odds with a heart as light as if he thought there was merry-making before 
him, and not the harvest of death. Remember he had nothing to gain and 
every tiling to lose — an honorable, social position, the prospect of wealth, 
the reputation of distinguished ability — all the advantages that give to 
youth sure promise of a "brilliant and prosperous future. All these things 
that men most love he cast into the balance, and chose to share the fate 
of the crushed and forlorn people. But the struggle was not to be. 
France stood still and looked on in apathy; while the nations whom her 
example had fired into revolt — the nations on whose independence her own 
safety depended — were, one by one, crushed and re-enslaved. England, 
freed from the danger of European war, stood armed and prepared. To 
the Irish people the odds against them seemed too heavy, and the means 
at their disposal too poor and weak. They did not revolt; no blow was 
struck. Colder, perhaps wiser, counsels prevailed, and the opportunity, 
if it was one, went by forever. The Government, watchful and active, at 
once put forth the arm of the law. O'Brien, Meagher, and others, were 
arrested, tried for high treason, found guilty and condemned to death. 
Then once more spoke the young orator, and this is what he said: 

[Mr. O'Gorman here read Meagher's speech in the dock at Clonmel, 
which will be found in its proper place in the body of this book.] 

Bemember, he then thought that speech was to be his last. These words 
he uttered, looking death in the eye. Tell me, have you ever known of any 
man. that in such a trying hour, uttered a more gallant, noble, dignified 
protest - 9 Think of this, you, if there be any who deem that we who 
knew this man loved him above his deserts; you who knew him only by 
his faults, and who may now be disposed to magnify them and to belittle 
his virtues, fancy yourselves, if you can dare to fancy it, in such a strait, 
and tell me if you could have raised your souls to so grand an eminence 
as his who that day set the prisoner above the judge who tried him, and 
dignified the felon's dock till it became, in the eyes of the world, a temple 
of freedom. 

You know how the sentence of death was commuted, not mitigated, to that 
of banishment for life in a penal settlement, and Meagher was sent to spend 
the rest of his days a convict among convicts, in Van Dieman's Land. Death 
seemed better ; death in the island he loved, with his last look resting on Irish 
soil, on Irish hill and sky. But to live and see- his career closed at twenty-five ; 
to hear from afar the great sea of life surging around, and never to have a 
venture on the tide; to see the great game of life played by other hands, 



APPENDIX. 



and he to stand by inactive, and only to watch and mark the game, to 
rot out a stagnant existence, to die a living death. This was hard to bear, 
and it seemed to be all his future. But what man can cast his own hor- 
oscope or predict to-day what shall befall him to-morrow? Meagher left 
Irish hearts and Irish love behind him in Ireland, but to find them watch- 
ing and waiting for him at the antipodes. For, let me tell you, all over 
the earth, North and South, East and West; wherever you may wander, 
you shall scarcely find a spot so remote, so desolate that an Irishman who 
loves Ireland, and whom Ireland loves, will not find there a welcome and a 
friend. In Van Dieman's Land Meagher found true and faithful friends. 
He placed himself in their hands. They planned his escape. It was suc- 
cessful, and in 1852 he set foot on American soil, once more a free man. 
You all remember with what an outburst of enthusiasm all sorts of men 
welcomed him to this republic. It was among the halcyon days of Amer- 
ica. There was nothing to disturb, distract or embitter men's thoughts. In 
an unchecked career of peace, prosperity and honor, the great Republic, 
secure and incredulous of danger, moved proudly along. Her large heart 
over-flowed with benevolence and hospitality, and to have striven and suffered 
for a people's liberty was a sure passport to men's homes and hearts. The 
desire to hear the young orator was universal. Meagher, for a time, pre- 
ferred silence and privacy, but in the end the popular wish prevailed, and 
he began a series of lectures which, with other literary labors, became his 
chief occupation for some years. 

He was everywhere successful, and sustained his great reputation. But 
those that knew him best saw that he was altered, that the disasters which 
he had undergone had hurt him, that some of his early fire had been 
quenched, and that his eloquence had lost the vigor which had been its 
chief charm in Ireland. His was a mind that needed the inspiration of a 
great purpose. That to which he had devoted his early efforts was gone, 
and none other came to supply its place. But events in America were 
shifting fast. The strife of factions, in whose healthy action free societies 
must always find their surest guarantees of safely, was becoming bitter and 
sectional. Wild, reckless, angry and wicked threats and challenges were 
made and answered, and a fatal madness swept over the land. There were 
some who spoke words of warning, of reconciliation and peace. It was too 
late. The cloud spread and darkened all the horizon, and the storm broke 
in thunder. You remember well how, on the first breaking out of the civil 
war, when the first shot was fired on the national flag, the great mass of 
the people of the Irish race on this continent took sides with the legally 
organized Government of the United States. The Sixty-ninth Regiment of 
the New York State Militia v\ as among the first to hurry to the delence of 
Washington. With it went Thomas Francis Meagher, in command of a 
company which he had organized. 

His was no factious motive. He knew little of parties or their purposes. 
He had no unkind feeling towards the South. He believed that the integ- 
rity of the Union was endangered, and that by a speedy display of force 
the fatal project might be checked in time, and he went forth to imperil 
his lile for tne sake of the home of his adoption with as pure a purpose, 



APPEXDIX 



as cheerful a heart, as that with which he faced the rebel's doom for the 
salvation of the land of his birth. One other thought, too, lay near his 
heart — a thought that quickened the pulse of every Irishman that marched 
then under the starry flag, that sang to him at the camp-fires, and whis- 
pered to him as he paced the sentinel's lonely rounds. It was this: that 
in the course of the civil war America might learn, what Irish instinct 
well knew, the jealousy with which the governing classes in Britain ever 
look on her revolted colonics, and that our war might be ended by the 
armies of a reunited Xorth and South marching side by, side under the 
old flag against the seeming friend but real foe of the Republic; the subtle, 
wily, persistent conspirator against all national repose or freedom or pro- 
gress all over the earth, save her own — Great Britain. 

You know of the Battle of Bull Eun, and how all through that disas- 
trous day Meagher bore himself with conspicuous gallantry. He returned 
to Xew York, and by his efforts was organized the Irish Brigade, of which 
he became the commanding officer. The rest of the story should not be 
told by me. I see many a man around me who followed all the fortunes of 
that gallant corps, and who will carry the consciousness of his share in its 
achievements as his proudest memory, to his grave. It was the old story. 
Xever did Clare, or Dillon, or Sarsfleld more gallantly lead on gallant men 
on Landen, on Cremona, on Fontenoy. than did Meagher, when he cheered on 
the boys of his Irish Brigade at Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Autietem, or, 
when at Fredericksburg, he obeyed the fatal order that doomed the Irish Brigade 
to hopeless slaughter in the attack on Marye's Heights. Aye! Be proud of 
the Irish Brigade. Be proud of him who led it. Preserve his memory, 
ye who served with him in these days of lire and death. Three thousand 
men were in that Brigade when it went into the war; five hundred were 
all that left it. Y'et it never disobeyed an order, never lost a flag, never 
lost hope, or heart, or cheerfulness. "It fought as it revelled, fast, fiery, 
and true," facing danger with a smile, laughing at fatigue and hardship, and 
breasting the red surges of war with a cheer as gay and ringing as other 
men utter when they have won a victory in some athletic game. "A some- 
what irregular nature — this Irish nature," — I think I hear some amateur 
philanthropist observe. Aye! as irregular as the granite boulder on which 
the foundations of continents rests — irregular and as massive. As irregulai 
as the young river that comes rushing, laughing, bounding from the moun- 
tain side, leaping from cataract to cataract, from fall to fall, now deep, 
now rapid, always wayward and free, never learning to be staid and regu- 
lar and respeetible until it passes by the cities and marts of commerce, and 
becomes tainted and stained with its impurities. Oh, if this world had none 
but regular natures and regular men in it, where would the world be 9 
"Where would be its valor, its self-sacrifice, its heroism, its Faith? "When 
tlie hours of life pass peacefully in easy routine along, then the regular 
natures and the regular men sow the seed and gather the harvest, and 
grow rich, and dream that all society should be made only of such as they. 
Bui in the strange economy of life all natures have their uses. When the 
crisis comes; when the fabric of society is shaken; when the blast of foreign or 
civil war sounds in our ears ; when the sky is overcast and all the earth rocks 



APPENDIX. 



and shudders with hidden throes; when the times are themselves irregular, 
portentous, full of fear — then irregular natures and irregular men are needed 
to these deeds of devotion, self-sacrifice, reckless valor, by which alone, in 
evil hours, nations can be saved. Were this city threatened tomorrow with 
invasion, I think all Wall street would agree with me that its defence 
would be more wisely entrusted to one thousand of the least regular men 
amongst us, than to the same number culled from among the wealthiest 
financiers or the largest merchants that have ever frowned at the errors and 
■weaknesses of those whose strong temptations they have never known, and 
whose characters they could never comprehend. Ah, God help us! If 
heaven did not judge more kindly than we judge one another, how few of 
us would see salvation. But I must hurry to a close. The Irish Brigade, 
in fact, ceased to exist. It was reduced to a batallion of a few hundred 
men. In February, 1863, General Meagher wrote to the then Secretary of War, 
asking that it might be sent home to recruit its ranks, as had been done 
by other commands. The request was denied, and after the battle of 
Chancellorsviille, General Meagher resigned his command. His farewell 
address to his comrades, the remnant of the brigade, contains this passage, 
which I cannot forbear to read: 

ki Sharing with the humblest soldier freely and heartily all the hard- 
ships and dangers of the battlefield — never having ordered an advance that 
1 did not take the lead myself — I thank God that I have been spared to 
do justice to those whose heroism deserves from me a grateful commemora- 
tion; and that I have been preserved to bring comfort to those who have 
lost fathers, husbands and brothers in the soldiers who have fallen for a 
noble government under the green flag. My life has been a varied one, 
and I have passed through many distracting scenes. But never has the 
river that flowed beside my cradle, never have the mountains that overlooked 
the paths of my childhood, never have the old walls that claimed the curiosity 
and research of maturer days, beeu effaced from my memory. As at first 
— as in nature — the beautiful and glorious picture is indelible. Not less 
vivid, not less uneffaceable, will be the recollection of my companionship 
with the Irish Brigade in the service of the United States. The graves of 
manj- hundreds of brave and devoted soldiers, who went to death with all the 
radiance and enthusiasm of the noblest chivalry, are so many guarantees and 
pledges that, as long as there remains one officer or soldier of the Irish 
Brigade, so long shall there be found for him, for his family and little 
ones, if any there be, a devoted friend in 

" Thomas Fra:nxis Meagher." 

He was answered by resolutions expressive of confidence and affection 
from all the officers and men of the Brigade. So closed his career as a 
soldier, and his connection with that corps whose reputation with that of 
the Irish Legion, its twin brother in heroism, will live in every authentic 
memorial of the civil war, past and gone, I trust, for ever. The last 
years of his life was spent in the territory of Montana, of which he was 
Secretary and Acting-Governor at the time of his death. He died in the 
service of the United States and in the performance of his duty. On his 



10 APPENDIX. 



last hours there rests no stain or reproach. After a day of hard labor he 
sought a night of repose. An old steamboat, moored to the shore, afforded 
him a place wherein to sleep. This account of his death which now I read 
to you is authentic and from a source in all respects reliable: 

"He was at Fort Benton, waiting for the arms the Government sent up. 
He arrived there on the first day of July, having ridden thirty miles on 
horseback in the hot sun that day. He spent the afternoon in conversation 
and letter-writing, and retired early to his berth on board the steamboat G. 
A. Thompson. There was no railing on the guards opposite his stateroom 
door, it having been broken off in some way. About 10 o'clock at night 
he went on the guards. Here, it is supposed, he stumbled on a coil of 
rope, lost his balance, and was precipitated over the side of the boat. The 
river is greatly swollen, and the current is so strong that the best swimmer 
has no chance in it. It is stated that he called for help, when the dock 
hands ran with their lights and saw him floating away. There was no 
boat ready. Everything appears to have been confusion and excitement. I 
have received a charming letter that he wrote to me, late that afternoon 
(his last on earth), telling me that he hoped to start for home by the last 
of the week. * * A gentleman who was in his company for over an 
hour late in the afterooon, just before the accident occurred, has informed 
me of most of the circumstances of his last hours in this life, as I state 
them to you. : ' 

So he died. "Would that he had died on the battlefield/' I think I 
hear some friend say — Would that he had fallen there, with the flag 
he loved waving over him and the shout of triumph ringing in his 
ears; would that his grave were on some Irish hill-side, with the 
green turf above him." No; God knows best how and where, and 
when we are to die. His will be done! But Meagher has bequeathed 
his memory to us to guard it and save it from evil tongues that respect 
the majesty of death. What matter to him now whether men praise or 
blame? The whole world's censure could not hurt him now. But for us, 
the friends who are left behind; for you, his companions in arms, for me, 
who was the friend of his youth, and who have loved him ever; for the 
sake of those who are nearer and dearer to him, of whose grief I cannot 
bring myself to speak; of his father, his brother, of his son, on whose 
face he never looked. 

For the sake, more than all, of that noble lady whose enduring love 
was the pride and blessing of his life; for all this we do honor to his 
memory, and strive to weave, as it were, this poor chaplet of flowers over 
his grave. His faults lie gently on him. For he had faults, as all of us 
have. But he had virtues, too, in whose light his errors were unseen and 
forgotten. In his youth he loved the land of his birth, and freely gave 
all he had to give, even his life, to save her and do her honor. He never 
forgot her. He never said a word that was not meant to help her and 
raise her. Some things he did say from time to time that I did not 
agree with, that seemed to me hasty, passionate, unjust. When men speak 
much and often they cannot help sometimes speaking wrong. But he said 



ArrENDix 



always what he thought; he never uttered a word that was unmanly or 
untrue to the cause that was the darling of his youth. In Ireland, in 
America, he invited no man to any danger that he was not ready to share. 
Never forget this; he gave all, lost all, for the land of his birth. He 
risked all for the land of his adoption, was her true and loyal soldier, and 
in the end died in her service. For these things, either in Ireland or 
in America he will not soon be forgotten, and the grateful instincts of two 
peoples will do him justice and cherish his money in their heart of hearts. 
And so old friend farewell. If it be, as we of the ancient faith are taught 
to believe, that the highest heavens are joined to this earth by a mystic 
chain of sympathy of which the links are prayers and blessings that ascend 
and descend, keeping ever the sacred communion unbroken and eternal. If 
this fervent prayer on earth can reach the throne of God, the friend of my 
youth shall never be forgotten there. His battle of life is fought. His 
work is done; his hour of repose is come, and love can utter no fonder 
aspiration than that which was chanted in the sad ceremonies this morning. 
May he rest in peace. Amen." 



CAPTAIN PATRICK JOSEPH CONDON OF THE IRISH BRIGADE.— 
ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF GENERAL MEAGHER'S DEATH. 

From Captain P. J. Condon, of the Irish Brigade, one of General 
Meagher's most esteemed and trusted friends, I have received the following 
authentic particulars of his beloved commander's death: 

Washington, D. C, Feb. 16, 1892. 
Michael Cavanagh, Esqr., Washington. D. G. 

My Dear Friend : Your request asking for what I know of the death 
of Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher to embody in his biography now be.ug 
prepared by you, is herewith given partly from data preserved and in part 
memorized : Having been escorted from Cork jail by a large force (32 all told) 
of armed detectives on the Fourth day of July, 1867, and placed on board the 
S. S. City of Paris, at Queenstown harbor, for New York, and arriving in 
the latter harbor on the following 13th, the first intelligence of our beloved 
general's death was imparted to me on board the steamer, in the harbor, 
bv my old friend, Gen. Murray, the custom-house boarding officer. That 
morning's New York Herald, which he gave me, contained the first pub- 
lic announcement of the sad event. 

The subsequent assembling, in mid-August, of the surviving officers of 
the Irish Brigade, under whose auspices the requiem mass at St. Francis 
Xavier Church, Sixteenth Street, and the brilliant memorial oration by his 
early friend and compatriot, Richard O'Gorman, Esqr., at the Cooper Union, 
are historical features of the time and occasion needing, now, no comment 
from me. 

On the assembling of the officers, after the solemn and touching cere- 
monies were over, 1 had the unexpected honor of being chosen by my 



12 APPENDIX. 



brother officers as First President of the Irish Brigade Officers' Association, an 
organisation, I am proud to say, which has kept up to the present day the 
noble expectations of its founders and members, in fostering fraternal bonds 
formed and cemented through the gloom and the glory of the bivouac and the 
battlefield: Benevolence to the needy widows and orphans of departed com- 
rades; and that undying love of patriotism which is ever preserved in the 
most select chamber of the Celtic heart. 

In the fall of 1868, I was engaged by Dr. Durant, vice-president of the 
Union Pacific railroad, to go to Omaha, Nebraska, and take charge of the 
stone work of the celebrated bridge at that point across the Missouri. 
While there I accidentally formed the acquaintance of the identical soldier 
who was on sentry duty on board the vessel, from the deck of which Gen- 
eral Meagher fell into the muddy, turbulent, mid-night waters of the Mis- 
souri at Benton. 

His discription of the calamity was so graphic and truthful that I 
brought him before a magistrate the next morning, where he made affidavit 
to the facts. That affidavit, together with other testimony of the proprietor 
of the Indian trading post at Benton, where I visited soon after, the cap- 
tain of the vessel and the pilot who accompanied Gen. Meagher to his 
stateroom on the boat, I forwarded to Captain Lyons, editor New York 
Herald at the time, and who, I understood, was then writing the life of the 
general. 

The plain facts of the case are these: General Meagher had been ailing 
for some three clays with a severe ^attack of diarrhoea, commonly known as 
summer complaint. 

He went ashore on the levee and struggled to the log house, or trad- 
ing post, where he was accommodated with a seat in a back room by the 
proprietor. He remained here for several hours resting his head on his 
hands, placed on a small table in front of him. Frequently he had to 
hasten from this position to the woods or "brush"' in the rear, where the 
violence of the disorder assailed him. The proprietor learning his distress 
urged him to take the only remedy in his power to offer, a glass of black- 
berry wine. This was repeated three times during his long and weakning 
agony at the trading post, after which, towards nightfall, he was conducted 
to the boat and retired to his stateroom, or rather the pilot's stateroom, 
which was kindly given up to him. 

The sentry's account (sworn to) was substantially as follows: "While on 
duty during the night, pacing the deck, I heard a noise stern-ward; on 
looking in that direction I saw somebody moving in white clothing (under- 
clothes) toward the left rear of the stern, where I knew the temporary 
accommodation place of the vessel was. Of course I about faced and 
marched the other way, thinking some one of the officers had a "short 
cill," and re-pacing my round about mid-way, I heard a shout and then a 
splash— that was all. I shouted "man overboard." In a moment the deck 
was alive; floating life buoys were flung out — boats and lights on the 
water. The recent Indian depredations caused us to be fully on the alert 
and prepared for anything sudden; but all to no purpose. 



APPENDIX 13 



The Missouri at this point, Benton, has a current of nine miles per 
hour in ordinary times — taster, but seldom slower at other times. 

The accommodation, or want of accommodation, on Missouri boats at 
that time, a quarter of a century ago, is well known to all who have 
enjoyed or suffered a trip up its toilsome, treacherous sand-bar waters, or 
down its whirling, snag-bumping rapids; it is easy to conceive how practiced 
in acrobatic feats the individual must be in keeping his "sea legs' 1 on a 
geometrical principle "the wider the base the firmer the structure" under 
such circumstances; and little doubt that this rude style of accommoda- 
tion at the particular call of strained nature was the direct cause of the 
untoward circumstance of the sad ending of General Meagher — a man on 
whose brow the stamp of remarkable genius was indellibly impressed; 
whose young life gave promise of grand achievements in the years to come; 
and whose after life, up to his untimely and mournful death, furnishes the 
student of history, the soldier and true patriot, an example worthy to be 
imitated by future generations and all nations who admire brilliant expres- 
sion of thought, personal bravery, and that love of country which springs 
spontaneously from the very core of a noble and fearless heart. 

Peace to thy ashes! O! grand and sublime Meagher! 

Very truly yours, P. J. CONDON. 



THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

BY TIRIA. — (JAMES J. BOURKE.) 

As rolls Montana's tideless wave, 

Far westward out where sinks the sun, 
It sweeps above a nameless grave 
Where sleeps a Tribune bright and brave; 

A soldier whose campaigning's done — 
A soldier on whose conquering sword 

Both gods and men might look with pride; 
An orator whose lightning word 
Could flash like meteor of the Lord — 

Who loving lived and loving died. 

The regal sun, the watching stars, 

The' moon when in its rounded crest, 
Fling forth in rays of slanting bars 
Deep through the rush of watery wars 

A cross of silver o'er his breast, 
Down where his whitening bones are strewn 

Beneath the river's ceaseless roll; 
And sobbing winds that night or noon, 
His wailing mourners hymn their tune, 

And sigh soft dirges for his soul. 

Full many a stately galley speeds 
In gleam of glory o'er the place, 

Where, far below the throbbing reeds 

And shrouded by the water weeds, 
Lies stark his pale, uncoffined face; 

And travellers list with bated breath 
While pilots tell the tale of doom — 



APPENDIX. 



How he who wore the victor's wreath 
Sank battling here with night and death, 
And found an unannointed tomb. 

But, ah, no trophy crowns the spot 

Where cold and pulseless wastes the heart 
That dared of yore, when youth was hot, 
The hangman's rope, the felon's lot, 

To act for Eire a true man's part; 
The waters seethe with hurrying dread 

Above the dull and lampless brain, 
The tongue of fire is mute and dead. 
And sands are round the God-like head, 

And all but prayer for him is vain. 

Yet had he, when his sands were run, 

Been laid to sleep in hallowed clay, 
The land for whom his work was done, 
Beneath whose flag he'd fought and won 

Would strew his grave with flowers to-day, 
The marble pile they'd upward rear 

Till flame-like it would flaunt the skies, 
And many a broken lance and spear 
They'd place around the warrior's bier 

And shattered drum and banner-prize. 

They mourn him in the land he loved, 

His priceless worth, his conquering arm, 
They miss him where in grace he moved — 
For camp and council both have proved 

His master mind to guide or charm. 
And many a tale will yet be told, 

By camping fires in future wars, 
Of him who with his clansmen bold 
Shook out the old green banners fold 

To fight beneath the Stripes and Stars. 

And hosts will whisper listening guests 

The Southern foeman's wild refrain, 
When glared he o'er the green-plumed crests, 
And sprigs of green on Irish breasts — 

" Here comes that damned Green Fiag again!" 
And hearts will fire and pulses bound 

At thoughts of Antietam's day; 
When hemm'd by fire and foemau round, 
The Irish stormed the vantage ground — 

And claimed the glory of the fray. 

And Fredericksburg's hard foughten field, 

Where men were mown like autumn grain, 
Shall prove, though oft it broke and reeled — 
That Irish valor could not yield, 

Though wheel-deep lay the mangled slain. 
What time that Meagher with glance of pride, 

Points out the range of belching guns — 
"Go take them now," he laughing cried; 
And while the storm of death rung wide, 

They straight obeyed like deteous sons. 

Oh, these are memories that eroke 

The noblest traits that stamp our race, 



APPENDIX. )& 



For through the rift of fire and smoke, 
Where wild the Irish slogan broke, 

When foe met foeman face to face, 
We know that each day's battle close 

Though fierce and bloody'd been the fight, 
Saw wounded soldiers tend the foes, 
Heard pitying words that heavenward rose, 

And prayers above the dead at night. 

But we, with whom the chieftan grew 

Who proudly led this bold brigade, 
Whose voice, whose form, whose face we knew, 
Whose fiery soul, whose courage true, 

Are with us dreams that will not fade; 
Who've heard his glorious burning words, 

Like Him the Roman chief of old, 
Who bade the slaves gird on their swords, 
And smite to doom their tyrant lords, 

And Heaven would aye them guiltless hold. 

And we within the circling bound 

Of this proud city of the Gael. 
The rebel Emmet's camping ground, 
The scene of Edward's martyr flwound, 

The throbbing heart of InnisfaU — 
Shall we erect no storied urn. 

Or marble statue carven fair, 
To him whose God-like words could burn, 
Who never more may now return, 

Like wearied child her breast to share. 

Oh, pile the stone and heap the cairn, 

And carve the likeness of his face, 
And twine at foot the oak and fern, 
That coming nations yet may learn 

He lived the Isaiah of our race. 
But if you'd fill your glorious part, 

And glance upon your work with pride, 
And image true of Meagher impart, 
Oh, place a shamrock o'er his heart — 

Eor it he lived, for it he died! 

GENERAL MEAGHER'S STAFF. 

With the exception of Captain McCoy, A. A. G., concerning whom I 
have already given all the information available, the officers composing General 
Meagher's staff deserve a more extended notice than they have received in 
the foregoing portion of this work; this I propose giving here — in so far 
as it relates to those gentlemen with whom I was personally and intimately 
acquainted. 

Captain John Gosson. 

From the general-commanding down no officer in the Army of the 
Potomac was better known personally and by reputation than Captain 
"Jack Gosson," first aide camp to General Meagher. A Galway man him- 
self, he was the son of John Gosson, Esq., formerly of Swords County, 
Dublin. A " born soldier," but with no predilections for the British Army, 



16 APPENDIX. 



he entered the Austrian service as lieutenant, and served under that dis- 
tinguished scion of the old Catholic Irish stock — General Count Nugent, in 
Syria, i Subsequently, through the count's recommendation, Ik? received a 
commission in the Seventh Hussars of Austria — a Hungarian regiment, com- 
manded by Prince Frederick Lichenstein. After some year's service, he 
returned to Ireland the very beau ideal of a handsome, dashing soldier, and, 
as a matter of course, he became a general favorite with the discriminating 
young ladies of his acquaintance. Amongst the most impressionable of 
these romantic damsels was a splendid-looking, black-eyed brunette — the 
daughter of an English baronet, who was also an extensive Irish land 
bolder. This gentleman did not look with favor on the young soldier's 
attentions to his handsome daughter — but "Jack" asked no favors from 
him. Neither did he run away with the girl; (running away from friend 
or foe was never in his line), but he won her for all that — in true Irish 
style, too. 

One morning, at breakfast, the pompous' old gentleman said to his 
daughter: "My dear, I wish you would discourage any attentions from this 
Lieutenant Gosson. He is a man whom I know onlv as a soldier of fortune 
and a Papist." 

With charming frankness the young lady replied : " I am so sorry, papa, 
that you didn't speak of it sooner — for I was married to Lieutenant Gosson 
this morning." 

It may well be supposed that, thenceforth, neither of the young people 
stood very high in the scandalized aristocrat's good graces. 

The advent of the war found Lieutenant Gosson in America, and he, 
naturally, was attracted to Meagher's side — and kept his place there through 
the war. There was much in common between their genuine Irish natures; 
both were brave, high-minded, dashing soldiers, thorough gentlemen in word 
and deed; courteous and kindly to stranger and friend, and both inimitable 
as story tellers when in congenial society. Gosson was devoted to Meagher; 
and Meagher appreciated his fidelity and his sterling worth, his chivalry, 
and scorn of all that was base or mean. An officer of the United States 
Regular Army said truly and well of him, that, "gallant and dashing sol- 
dier as he was, and there was no finer in the army, it was, after all, his 
manners, his dress, his speech, his history — in a word — Gosson, the man 
that justified in his single person, all the O'Malleys and Hintons and Lor- 
requers that Lever has drawn. The crowning glory was Jack's appear- 
ance on grand occasions in full military figure — gold-laced cap and jacket, 
a broad gold-embroidered cross-belt clasped with a lion's head, supporting an 
enameled leather cartridge box, a saber-tasche of the same material hanging 
by long slings, so as to just clear the top of a neat fitting and polished 
Hessian boot. He certainly looked and was the ideal aide-de-camp." 

[ It was in the above described brilliant uniform that Captain Gosson 
appeared one night in a box at the theatre in Washington and created a 
sensation which, of its kind, was never equalled in that temple of Terpsi- 
chore. 

It was the week following the battle of Antietam and the National 
Capital was jubilant over the great Union victory. The hotels were 



APPENDIX \13 



crowded with officers, who, in their brief and well-earned furloughs, enjoyed 
life with a zest unknown to those who never risked it at the game of war. 
All places of public amusement were in full blast, crowded from pit to 
galleries. 

On the night in question Mrs. Wood, then a most popular actress, w T as 
fascinating the immense audience by her superb rendering of a patriotic 
song— into which she — with a bewitching glance at the splendid looking: 
soldier gazing admiringly from the box above her, — interpolated a graceful 
compliment to the country's defenders — the "Bold Soldier Boys!" The- 
house applauded most enthusiastically and broke out into ringing cheer? 
when the conspicuously handsome cavalier so favored by the beautiful min 
srrel. rose to his full height, and with his hand on bis heart, bowed h 
thanks to the charmer. While on his feet our hero noticed in the 1 
beneath him a portly bald-headed old gentleman dangling tremulously 
his fat hand a beautiful bouquet of the rarest flowers. Stimulated 
innate gallantry, combined with the irrepressible spirit of deviltry so 
aei eristic of his daring impulsive nature, Jack drew his sword, and y- 
point gently lifted the bouquet and tipped it to the lady's feet, ainul 
uproarous cheers and laughter. 

The astonished old gentleman turned up his purple-hued face to his de- 
spoiler, and, in a voice half-choked with rage, gasped out: — 

"Who are you, sir! How dare you?" "Shut up! you cantake- 

rous old codger," shouted Jack, "or I'll jump down your throat — boots, 

spurs and all, by ■ ! The interlocutor suddenly collapsed. A storm of 

commingled cheers and laughter reverberated through the house with, here 
and there, a cry of "shame!" from some stickler for the "proprieties." 
Our hero stood gazing placi lly on the sea of excited faces until the uproar 
had ceased, and then, in cool and measured tones, said: — 

"Gentlemen, I am a soldier of the 'Irish Brigade!' I am Captain 
Jack Gosson, of General Meagher's staff. If, in my response to a lady's 
appeal, I have given offence to any gentleman here, I will be found at 
Williard's Hotel to-morrow ready to give him adequate satisfaction." 

There was no dissenting interruption to the cheering this time; nether 
was there any seekers for "satisfaction" calling at Williard's next day.] 

Captain John D. Hearn. 

Captain John D. Hearn was in many characteristics a different man 
from his brother aide-de-camp, Captain Gosson. Alike in personal devotion 
to their chief, and in fealty to the National Flag, fleam's natural tem- 
perament was as cool and imperturbable as Gosson's was exuberant and mer- 
curial. There was but little appearance of that impulsive dash in the one 
winch was so conspicuous among the soldierly attributes of the other, hi 
in the resolute determination to do his duty to the end, no matter wh 
impediments barred the way, Captain Hearn had few, if any, superiors i. 
the army. He was a man of splendid physical proportions — over six feet 
in height, and straight as a pike-staff. He was one of the most athletic 
men in his native country (Waterford), and was credited with jumping over 



APPENDIX. 



twenty-one feet — backwards and forward? — on a dead level. He came of a 
well to do and highly esteemed family, who resided at a place called 
ShanHrill, near Dungarvan. He was an intelligent, thoughtful and high- 
principle I man, a trusty comrade and earnest, practical Irish revolutionist 
— one of the leaders of the organization of ""49"' in his district. He was 
arrested, on suspicion, at the time, but after some months' imprisonment in 
Waterford jail, was discharged without trial. He came to America in 1850, 
and was one of the founders of the "Mitchell Light Guards," of which 
Joseph Brenan was captain. He subsequently joined the Fenian Brother- 
hood, and when John O'Mahony returned on his perilous mission to Ireland 
i the winter of 1860, he se ected John D. Hearn as his companion— for 
s rare qualifications of courage, prudence, integrity, and self-sacrificing 
riotism. John D. Hearn remained in Liverpool after O'Mahony's return 
America; but on his learning that Meagher was organizing the Irish 
de, be resigned a lucrative position in a mercantile establishment, and 
out to take his stand beside his gifted countryman. He served in the 
.j, on General Meagher's staff, till the retreat to Harrison's Landing. 
Subsequently he became attached to the "Irish Legion," as captain in the 
l;4th ("Corcoran Zouaves"); was taken prisoner at Ream's Station in 
A'igust, 1864, and in 1865 was invited by General Meagher to accompany 
him in an official position to Montana, but declined, as he was then after 
volunteering to proceed to Ireland with his brother Fenians. On his return 
in 1866, he rejoined Meagher in Montana, where, I believe, he is at tho 
present time, ( 1892.) 

Captain James B. Turner.— (" Gallowglass.") 

In addition to his official duties as aide-de-camp, this gallant young 
officer rendered most efficient service to the Irish Brigade by voluntarily con- 
stituting himself its chief chronicler. His correspondence in the Irish- 
American, from the seat of war, constituted the most graphic and interesting 
acco n ■ of the progress of events at the time, and to the historian, who 
wou d not limit his sources of information to the dry, official reports of 
lie War Depanment, these' letters, recording as they do the inner life of 
Che camp, its privations and its festivities — the incidents transpiring on the 
march, in the field, or in the hospital — are invaluable. He was well aware 
of the worth of such details of the private soldier's heroism— as the fol- 
lowing extract from his correspondence after the disastrous battle of Fred- 
erieksburgh will show. In referring to a letter from a private soldier 
giving the history of its company's experience in the fight — which he 
embodied in his report — he says: — 

"Such is the simple chronicle of a brave company's brave day's work, 
told by as gallant a young soldier as there is in the Brigade. Reading it 
and knowing how true it is, having observed all the men .mentioned in it in 
battle often before, on the march, in the bivouac and the camp, one's only 
regret is, that the deeds of the brave rank and file of the other companies 
and regiments of the Brigade cannot be fully and particularly set forth. 
The lives of the men of the Brigade would form one of the brigbtest 



APPENDIX. 19 



biographies? of heroism. So much individual pluck, courage, dash, enthusi- 
asm and valor, has rarely in any age been marshalled together for the fight. 
After all it is some consolation to know, even although the Brigade is 
melting by degrees away, that there was in our times so much that was 
proud, noble and invincible among our people on this continent. It will 
be a glorious heritage to leave to your posteri y the record of your valor, 
and one of the proudest assertions that can be made by any Irishman of 
our day, will be that he, too, was a member of the Irish Brigade that 
fought for the American Republic." 

" Gallowglass." 

Would the time ever arrive when adequate justice can be rendered to 
the memory of those heroic representatives of a heroic race, the concluding 
paragraph of the above extract might fittingly be engraved on the " Mem- 
orial Stone" of the writer — the gentle-hearted, gallant and gifted ''His- 
torian of the Irish Brigade." — Captain James B. Turner. 

"A Saxon Churl Ursurps the Lion's Hide." 

Major (?) Warrington. 

While the Irish Brigade was being recruited in the Autumn of 1861, an 
imposing-looking gentleman of middle age and insinuating address, presented 
himself at headquarters. He introduced himself to Meagher as Major 
Warrington — formerly of the British Army, but now desirous of offering 
his sword and military experience to the service of the Republic, and, by 
perference, in connection with the Irish Brigade. 

Meagher received him courteously, accepted his proffered services in good 
faith, and, ere long, the aristocratic-looking Englishman became a conspio 
uous appendage to the headquarters on Broadway — where he made himself 
'•generally useful" in the routine work of the office, and in varying its 
more prosaic occupations by recounting some interesting episodes of his pre- 
vious history — which his attentive auditors perfectly understood were to be 
taken with a liberal allowance of "salt." 

When, eventually, the Brigade left New York for the front, Major 
Warrington was left behind at headquarters with instructions to superintend 
the forwarding of additional recruits, etc. However, after Meagher took 
charge of the Brigade at Camp California, he reported there for duty, and 
was assigned a place on the " volunteer staff." Here he managed to main- 
tain his assumed character unquestioned while the army was in process of 
organization, under General McGellan. 

When the campaign opened, however, and the order to advance towards 
Richmond was issued, he felt the crisis of his life approaching. How he 
"»-ent Ihrmgh the ordeal I'll leave to be told by Captain Field of the 4th 
U. S. Artillery — in his graphic "Reminisceuses of the Irish Brigade." 

" Exit A Soldier of Fortune. " 

" Whi'e lying in the entrenchments at Fair Oaks, an ornamental appendage 
to the brigade staff faded from view. Major \Varrington was an eminently 



20 APPENDIX. 



aristocratic gentleman, with a fine haughty profile, a fresh complexion, 
slightly reddened by good cheer, distinctly suggesting old port, hair and 
moustache beautifully silvered, manners courtly, with just a shade of arro- 
gance, in keeping with the report which was current and not disbelieved, 
that he was the son of George the Fourth. (General Meagher told me he 
was inclined to believe it.) He was a sort of volunteer aide, belonged to 
nothing that we knew of, and justified his status by doing nothing. Major 
Cavanagh l now the gallant veteran commanding the historical Sixty-ninth), 
was commanding the picket-line, and firing between the opposing pickets 
suddenly began. General Meagher sent Warrington with an order to Cav- 
anagh, which was not complied with. When asked why he had not obeyei 
the instructions, Cavanagh replied that he had received none. The Gene al 
asked Major Warrington if he had delivered them, and the latter seemed 
inclined to evade the question, and to shuffle off on Cavanagh The responsi- 
bility. The two men were confronted, the scion of royalty and the bull t- 
headed Irishman, as rough as a chestnut-burr, and as brave as a game- 
cock. When Cavanagh plainly intimated that Warrington had found the 
bulle r s too numerous to fulfil his orders, the latter said, drawing up 
proudly. 

' I don't believe you know who I am, sir.' 

' Indeerl,' said Cavanagh; 'I'm not sure you know yourself. But I'm 
told you claim to be a bastard of George the Fourth. By all accoun s 
your father was as dirty a blackguard as ever disgraced a throne, and, if 
he ever had a son, I'm thinking he'd be just such a shirk and poltroon as 
you've proved yourself this day, Major Warrington.' 

"A few days after it was politely intimate 1 to the elderly swell that 
his services could be dispensed with." 

Doctok Lawrence Reynolds. — Poet-Laueeate to the Irusn 
Brigade. 

As Captain Turner was the chief chronicler, so was Dr. Reynolds ch'ef 
bard of the Irish Brigade. But few officers in the Army of the Potomac 
were more familiarly known to, or more universally esteemed by their com- 
rades in arms than the genial-hearted surgeon of the 63d Regt., N. Y. V. 
Skillful and experienced in his profession, a highly-educated Irish gentleman., 
a versatile writer, orator and poet, and an earnest, active worker in the 
cause of Irish nationality for over half a century, he well merited the re- 
spect of his fellow officers, and the enthusiastic affection which was accorded 
him by his compatriots of the rank aid file. It was impossible for any 
genuine Irishman to know "Oil Larry!" (as he was endearingly designated 
by his feaiow countrymen ) and not love him. He was the very personifi- 
cation of cheerfulness and good nature — his beaming countenance — like the 
sun — diffused warmth wherever it shone. Though he lived to the age of 
eighty-four, yet his heart remained always fresh and young. Gifted by 
nature with an abundant fount of ready wit and genuine Irish humor. 
though quick at repartee, he was sel lorn sarcastic, and never bitter in 
his retorts. The victims of his playful humor enjoyed his jokes most 
keenly, for, in general, they were among his most intimate friends. 



APPENDIX 21 



Dr. Lawrence Reynolds was born in the city of Waterford, in the year 
1804. He came of an old and highly respectable Catholic family, and was 
the youngest of four brothers. Having received a classical education, and 
being gifted from early boyhood with a literary taste — he commenced his 
public career by engaging with his brothers in the publication of a news- 
paper, but he tired of the confinement of ollice life, and his adventurous spirit 
led him to England to " seek his fortune." He applied his talents to the 
study of medicine, and having in due time secured his diploma, he settled 
down to the practice of his profession in the city of Liverpool. He was 
highly popular with the Irish element of that great commercial city, and 
was in a fairway of realizing an independent fortune when the revolution- 
ary movement of '48 enlisted his active sympathies, and as the acknowl- 
edged leader of his countrymen in Liverpool, his practical patriotism soon 
made him amenable to the law, and he, like many other kindred spirits of 
that period, had to seek a new career in the " Land of the Free." 

On his arrival in New York, he settled down to the practice of his 
profession, and soon built up a lucrative business. But he abandoned it on 
the breaking out of the war, and when the Irish Brigade was being raised, 
he joined the 63d Eegt. He served with the Brigade throughout the war, 
being on duty in every battle in which it was engaged — and the list is a 
long and glorious one. When not actively employed on the field, he volun- 
teered on the Headquarters Medical Staff. He was so highly esteemed by 
General Hancock, that, on the recommendation of that distinguished officer, 
Sergeant Reynolds, "for service in the field," was advanced to the rank of 
Lieutenant-Colonel. 

But, notwithstanding his onerous professional duties, the ardent old 
patriot still found time to serve the cause of his native laud. His tongue, 
pen and purse were ever ready at her service. In the "Officers' Circle" of 
the Fenian Brotherhood, no man was more enthusiastic or zealous than its 
gray-bearded aid "treasurer." His speeches infused his own hopeful, heal- 
thy energy into the hearts of his hearers, while his spirit-stirring songs 
scattered broadcast through the camp, kept up the sentiment of patriotism 
in the souls of the susceptible Celts of all ranks and couditons. 

Of all his compatriots in the army, General Thomas A. Smythe — that 
beau ideal of an Irish soldier — stood highest in his regard and affection. 
His most popular song was written in indignation at the neglect of this 
splendid soldier's services — by the authorities; and it was confidently be- 
li ved in the Army of the Potomac that it was owing to old "Larry's" scath- 
ing effusion that the political magnates were at length shamed into doing 
justice to the gallant colonel of the First Delaware Volunteers; the hero of 
thirty-five battles; and for some time in the fall- of 1863 and the spring of 
18G4, commander, successively, of the Irish Brigade and the Second Diviston, 
Second Army Corps. 

[ General Smythe fell while leading his command at Five Forks, being 
the last general-officer killed in the w r ar for the Union. 

He was born near Fermoy, Co. Cork, on Christmas i^ay, 1832, and was 
twenty-two years of age when he emigrated to America.] 



22 APPENDIX. 



"THERE'S NOT A STAR FOR YOU, TOM SMYTHE." 

(A song addressed to brave Col. Thomas A. Smythe of Wilmington, 
First Regiment of Delaware Volunteers, by Lawrence Reynolds, Surgeon 
Sixty-third Regiment New York Volunteers, Irish Brigade.) 

Though stars are falling very thick, 

On many a curious spot; 
And warriors rising very quick, 

Who never heard a shot. 
Still, though you periled limb and life, 

And many a fight went through. 
And laurels won in every strife. 

There's not a star for you. Tom Smythe, 
There' not a star for you ! 

'Tis true, when close the hostile linos, 

The headlong charge you lead. 
And your sword, glory's beacon, shines, 

In front of your brigade; 
But you can't like a courtier grin. 

No little work can do, 
So you perchance a ball may win; 

But there's not a star for you, Tom Smythe, 
There's not a star for you ! 

Whene'er you tread the crimson sod, 

Your form and soul expand ; 
In olden times you'd seem a God, 

Not Hancock self's more grand. 
But then your sword, a wily" tongue, 

Far greater deeds can do; 
For while stars grace the gabby throng, 

There's not a star for you.' Tom Smythe, 
There's not a star for' you. 

No coward in the ranks is seen, 

When gallant Smythe appears, 
Men kindle at his voice and mien, 

And move on with gay cheers. 
Smythe's spirit moves the glowing mass, 

Deeds past their power to do; 
Yet while such things you bring to pass, 

There's not a star for you. Torn Smythe, 
There's not a star for you ! 

But by you for no selfish cause, 

Is battle's flag unfurled, 
You fight to save your glorious laws, 

To^ bless the future world. 
Brave Hancock owns you're skilled and brave, 

The army own it. too, 
Then this proud feelino- you must have 

Is rank and a star for you, Tom Smythe, 
Is rank and a star for you! 

Doctor R ynolds died at Oswego, N. Y., -on the 28th of April. 18S7. 



APPENDIX. 23 



GENERAL MEAGHER'S APPEAL FOP JUSTICE TO THE IRISH 
BRIGADE. 

"Headquarters, Irish Brigade, Second Brigade, Hancock's ~) 

Division, Couch's Corps, Army of the Potomac, r 

Before Fredericksburg, Va., Feb. 19th, 18G3. ) 

" To the Honorable, the Secretary of War at Washington : — 

"Sir — I have the honor to request that three regiments of the Brigade 
I command may be temporarily relieved from duty in the field. 
"I make this application for the following reasons: — 
"The Brigade nominally consists of five regts. 
69th New York Volunteers, 
88th New York Volunteers, 
63d New York Volunteers, 
116th Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
28th Massachusetts Volunteers. 
"The aggregate strength of these five regiments is made up of 139 offi- 
cers and 1,058 enlisted i. ;u. To this strength the 116th Pa., Vols., (now 
consolidated into a battalion), and the 28th Mass., Vols., contribute 48 offi- 
cers and 527 enlisted men. The other three regiments, therefore, make up 
the balance, giving as their aggregate 91 officers and 531 enlisted men. 

For duty, including pioneers, drummers, etc., ... 343 

On extra and daily duty, -.__-_-._ 133 

Sick and wounded, ---------59 

"The 69th, 88th and 63d are the three original old regiments of the 
Brigade. They left the city of New York in the mouths of November and 
December, 1861, fully two thousand two hundred and fifty strong, including 
two batteries of three officers and one hundred and fifty men each. As- 
signed to the divisions commanded by Major-General Sumner, these regi- 
ments entered immediately on active duty, being encamped near Edsall's 
Hill, beyond Alexandria, Va., until the 10th of March, when they proceeded 
10 Union Mills, Manassas and Warrenton Junction. 

" Returning to Alexandria early in April, they embarked for Ship-point, 
on the York River, when, after several days of laborious activity in the 
commissary and quartermaster's departments of the army, they proceeded 
to the front, and were engaged at once in the operations for the reduction 
of Yorktown. 

••The battle of Fair Oaks was the first battle in which these regiments 
fought, and these were the Only regiments then constituting the Brigade. 

" A fortnight subsequently the Brigade was reinforced by the 29th Mass. 
Vols., and thus reinforced, the three old regiments did severe duty before 
Richmond, tins < ut • requiring of them to defend the front of the army at 
Fair Oaks, throw up extensive earthworks, perform picket duty every third 
day, support the command of Major-General Hooker on three occasions, 
when he was forcibly pressed by the enemy; and, ultimately, hastening to 
the relief, and covering, in conjunction with the Brigade, commanded by 



APPhNDIX. 



Brigadier-General French, the retreat of the army corps, under Major-Gen- 
eral Fitz-John Porter, at Gaines's Hill. 

" On the retreat of the Army of the Potomac from before Richmond, 
the Brigade, consisting of the above-mentioned regiments, participated in the 
battles of Peach Orchard, Savage's Station, White Oak Swamp, Glendale, 
Malvern Hill, and suffered severely, the loss of commissioned officers being 
more, proportionally, than the loss of privates. 

"Whilst suffering in this way. and reduced to an a\erage of three hun- 
dred men to each regiment, the Brigade arrived at Harrison's Landing, 
James River, and, although the undersigned was ordered by Major-General 
McClellan to proceed to New York shortly alter the Army of the Potomac 
had reached the Banding, for the purpose of procuring recruits; and, 
although the Brigadier-General exercised all the influence within his scope 
to procure such recruits, the Brigade almost imperceptibly benefitted by its 
temporary relief from duty- in the field and the exertions of the under- 
signed. 

•• Nevertheless, the Brigade most cheerfully and heartily participated in 
the rapid and sultry march to Newport News, by way of Williamsburg and 
Yorktown, and with equal alacrity and good will proceeded to Acquia Creek, 
and thence to Falmouth, Ya., where they were ordered by Major-General 
McClellan to report to Major-General Burnside, in command of the Federal 
forces in front of Fredericksburg. 

" Relieved by Major-General Burnside, the Brigade, still consisting of the 
CDth. 88th and 63d N. Y. Vols., and the 29th Mass. Vols., returned from 
Falmouth in forty-eight hours after they had reported to General Burnside, 
and repaired to Alexandria, whence, alter a halt of less than eight hours 
outside the city, they hurried to the support of Major-General Pope, then 
engaged with the enemy on the plains of Manassas, resting not more than 
six hours in the rear of Fort Corcoran, preparatory to their advance. 

" On the retreat from the plains of Manassas, the Brigade formed a por- 
tion of the rear-guard, and, acting as such, experienced a good deal of 
harassing from the light artillery and cavalry of the enemy. 

" First in the advance on the march through Maryland to the battlefield 
of Antietam, they supported Major-General Hooker at South Mountain, and, 
two days after, under the immediate command of Major-General Richardson, 
were conspicuously engaged in that great attack which compelled the euemy, 
defeated and humbled, to recross the Potomac. 

"Since then, the Brigade, reinforced by the HCth Pa. Vols., and having 
the 29th Mass. Vols., replaced by the 2Sth of the same state, took part of 
the remnnoissance of Charlestown, and the intervening and adjacent country 
beyond Boliver Heights, which reconnnissan.ee was so brilliantly and success- 
fully conducted by Brigadier-General Hancock, commanding the division, of 
which this Brigade is the Second Brigade. 

" In the subsequent advance to the Rappahannock, the Brigade was fre- 
quently foremost; and on the evening of November 17th had the honor of 
being ordered by Major-General Sumner to proceed with all speed up the 
road, ford the river, and take the guns which ( opposite Falmouth ) had 



APPENDIX 25 



been silenced and dismounted by tbe splendid battery commanded by Cap- 
tain Petit t. 

"Tins order, however, was countermanded half an hour after the Brigade 
bad dashed forward with the gr. atest enthusiasm to execute it, it being 
decided by Major-General Sumner that it would be imprudent to throw any 
portion of tbe army over the Rappahannock before the entire force was 
prepared to establish itself on the Fredericksburg side of the river. 

"The records of the Brigade, thus far, close with the day on which 
the assault was made on the enemy's lines and batteries; and all bis re- 
doubts and fortified works and heights in tbe rear of Fredericksburg, unless 
continued picket duty, from that day to this, may be considered a pro- 
longation of the record. 

•• Tbe official statistics of the five regiments have been inserted in this 
application; and, if I do not greatly err, from a partiality generated by 
my peculiar relationship with the Brigade — having been the founder of it — 
f think I am justified in affirming that no Brigade in the army of the 
United States has more assiduously, unremittingly, bravely, nobly done its 
duty. 

" No history, however vividly and powerfully written, could do more 
than these plain and stern statistics do in attestation of the cordial loyalty 
and devotion unto death of this Brigade, in the good and glorious cause 
in which it staked its reputation, which is dearer to it than the blood of 
the bravest soldiers of whom it is composed. 

"Grounding the application on these statistics and these facts — repre- 
senting, as they unquestionably do, that the Brigade has ceased to be a 
Brigade, and hardly exhibits the numerical strength which qualifies it for a 
higher designation than that of a Colonel's command — and with an honest 
and generous view of the still greater einci-ency of tbe military power of 
the Government, I do most respectfully and earnestly beg that the three 
original regiments of the Brigade, viz. : the 69th N. Y. Vols., 88th N. Y. 
Vols., 63d N. Y. Vols., be temporarily relieved from duty in the field; and, 
being so relieved, have the opportunity of restoring, in some serviceable 
measure, their exhausted ranks. 

"As long as these regiments are retained in the field, the undersigned 
is convinced that no accession to their ranks will take place: and the under- 
signed feels that it is unnecessary for him to enter into any argument or 
exposition to confirm this assertion. 

"He confines himself to the respectful duty of directing the attention 
of the Secretary of War to the fact, that decimated regiments from Maine, 
Massachusetts and Connecticut have been ordered home, so as to enable 
them to return actively to the service of the government with a strength 
commensurate with their reputation, and the cause in which they are engaged. 

" The Brigadier-General commanding what is popularly known the Irish 
Brigade, asks no more for what is left of his brave officers and men than 
that which has been conceded to other commands, exhibiting equal labors, 
equal sacrifices, and equal decimation. 

" In doing so, he does violence to his own heart and nerve. In mak- 
ing and urging an application of this character, any man of soldierly 



APBENDIX. 



instinct and pride must feel that he has imputations to encounter, which 
tend to til-, damage of the good name he has acquired in the midst of 
many difficulties and dangers, and to which the Brigade, in whose behalf 
he appeals, has with so liberal a gallantry contributed. 

"But there is a courage sterner still than that which faces the fire of 
the enemy. Doing your duty to your men — either to their displeasure or 
in concurrence with their wishes — oftentimes demands a resolution higher 
far in a moral estimation than that which the orders delivered on the eve 
of battle exact. 

"Such do I feel to be the resolution required of me at this moment, 
in forwarding and pressing this application. We are in front of the enemy 
of the Government of the United States. A narrow river alone divides us. 
Any moment may witness — any accident may precipitate a collision between 
the two armies. With this possibility before us, the reluctance with which 
I make this application will be easily conceived, and cannot but be readily 
admitted. 

'■ But, as I have already more than estimated the reputation of the Bri- 
gade, for the remnant of which I appeal, is too vitally identified with the race 
which it represents, and the cause to which it has devoted its fidelity and its 
life, for me, as the official guardian of it, to be silent — to refrain from 
urging such a request as I do now — when to be silent might, and would 
inevitably, imperil that righteous reputation. 

"I have alluded to considerations of public and national interest in for- 
warding this application. 

" These considerations form a part of the application, which I do not 
onceive it proper or essential for me to submit at large, or in detail to 
the Secretary of War, and shall, therefore, confine myself, as I do con- 
scientiously, and with the deepest and strongest conviction that the relief 
of the 1st, 2d and 3d regiments of the Brigade from duty in the field, 
will result in an important accession to their ranks, and so enable the Irish 
Brigade to render, in support of the Constitution and the legitimate Chief 
Magistracy of the United States, services not less faithful and chivalrous 
than those they have already permanently imprinted with their blood upon 
the national records of this war. 

" 1 have the honor to be your very humble and obedient servant, 
" With the greatest esteem, 

••Thomas Francis Meagher, 
"Brig.-Gen. commanding the Irish Brigade." 

GENERAL MEAGHER TENDERS HIS RESIGNATION. 

"Headquarters Irish Brigade, Hancock's Division, \ 
Couch's Corps, Aimy of the Potomtc, May 8, 1&C3.J 

■Major John Hancock. Assistant Adjutant-General: — 

"I beg most respectfully to tender you, and through you to the 
proper authorities, my resignation as Brigadier-General, commanding what 
was once known as the Irish Brigade. That Brigade no longer exists. 



APPENDIX. 27 



The assault on the enemy's works on the 13th of December last reduced it 
to something less than a minimum regiment of infantry. For several weeks 
it remained in this exhausted condition. Brave fellows from the convales- 
cent camp and from the sick beds at home gradually reinforced this hand- 
ful of devoted men. Nevertheless it failed to reach the strength and 
proportions of anything like an effective regiment. These facts I repre- 
sented as clearly and forcibly as it was in my power to do in a memorial 
to the Secretary of War; in which memorial I prayed that a Brigade which 
bad rendered such service and incurred such distressing losses should be 
temporarily relieved from duty in the field, so as to give it time and oppor- 
tunity in some measure to renew itself. 

" The memorial was in vain. It never was even acknowledged. The 
depression caused by this ungenerous and inconsiderate treatment of a gal- 
lant remnant of a Brigade that had never once failed to do its duty most 
liberally and heroically, almost until ted me to remain in command. True, 
however, to those who had been true to me — true to a position which 1 
bad considered sacred under the circumstances — I remained with what was 
left of my Brigade, and, though feeling that it was to a sacrifice rather 
than to a victory we were going, I accompanied them, and led them 
through all the operations required of them at Scott's Mills and Chancellors- 
ville, beyond the Rappahannock. 

" A mere handful, my command did its duty at those positions with a 
fidelity and resolution, which won for it the admiration of the army. It 
would be my greatest happiness, as it would surely be my highest honor, 
to remain in the companionship and charge of such men; but to do so 
any longer would be to perpetuate a public deception, in which the hard-won 
honors of good soldiers, and in them the military reputation of a brave old 
race would inevitably be involved and compromised. I cannot be a party to 
this wrong. My heart, my conscience, my pride, all that is truthful, man- 
ful, sincere and just within me, forbid it. 

•In tendering my resignation, however, as the Brigadier-General in com- 
mand of this poor vestige and relic of the Irish Brigade, I beg sincerely to 
assure you that my services, in any capacity that can prove useful, are freely 
at the summons and disposition of the Government of the United S ates. 
That the Government, and the cause, and the liberty, the noble memories, 
and the future it represents, are entitled unquestionably and unequivocally 
to the life of every citizen who has sworn allegiance to it, and partaken of 
its grand protection. 

'•But while I offer my own life to sustain this good Government, I 
feel it to be my first duty to do nothing that will wantonly imperil the 
lives of others, or. what would be still more grevious and irreparable, 
inflict sorrow and humiliation upon a race who, having lost almost everything 
else, find in their character for courage and loyalty, an invaluable gift, 
which I, for one. will not be so vain or selfish as to endanger. 

" I have the honor to be most respectfully and faithfully yours, 
"Thomas Francis Meagher, 

" Brigadier-General Commanding." 



APPENDIX. 



FAREWELL ADDRESS OF THE OFFICERS OF THE 69th, 63d AND 
88th REGIMENTS, N. Y. S. V., IRISH BRIGADE. 

" Camp of the Irish Brigade, First Division, ") 
2nd Army Corps, Army of the Potomac 
Falmouth, Va., May 20th, 1863. 

" To Brigadier-General Thomas Francis Meagher, 

Late Commanding Irish Brigade: 

" The undersigned officers of the original regiments of tthe Irish Brigade, 
in the field, having learned with deep regret that you have been compelled 
by reasons of paramount importance to tender your resignation as General 
of the Brigade, and that the Government having accepted your resiguation, 
you are about to separate yourself from us, desire in this manner, as the 
most emphatic and courteous, to express to you the sorrow we personally 
feel at your departure, and ' the sincere and heartfelt affection we entertain, 
and shall ever entertain for you under all circumstances, and changes of 
time and place. 

" We regard you, General, as the originator of the Irish Brigade in the 
service of the United States, we know that to your influence and energy, 
the success which it earned during its organization is mainly due; we have 
seen you since it first took the field — some eighteen months since — sharing 
its perils and hardships on the battle-field and in the bivouac : always at 
your post, always inspiring your command with that courage and devotion 
which has made the Brigade historical, and by word and example cheering 
us on, when fatigue and dangers beset our path, and we would be ungrate- 
ful, indeed, did we forget that whatever glory we have obtained in many 
a hard-fought field, and whatever honor we may have been privileged to 
shed on the sacred land of our nativity, that to you, General, is due to a 
great extent, our success and our triumph. 

" In resigning the command of the remnant of the Brigade, and going 
back to private life in obedience to the truest dictates of honor and con- 
science, rest assured, General, that you take with you the confidence and 
affection of every man in our regiments, as well as the esteem and love of 
the officers of your late command. 

'•With this sincere assurance, we are, General, your Countrymen and 
Companions in Anns. 

P. Kelly, Colonel, 88th New York, Irish Brigade. 

R. C. Bently, Leiut. -Colonel, Commanding 63rd New York. 

James E. McGee, Captain, Commanding 69th New York. 

Wm. J. Nagle, Captain. Commanding 88th New York. 

James Saunders, Captain, 69th New York. 

John Smith, Major, 83rd New York. 

P. J. Condon, Captain, 63rd New York, Company G. 

John H. Donovan, Captain, 69th New York. 

Richard Moroney, Captain, 69th New York. 



APPENDIX. 



John H. Glaason, Captain, 
M. W. Wall. (apt. and A. A. A. G., 
Thomas Twohy, Captain. 
John J. Blake. Captain. 
Robert H. Milliken, Captain, 
Garrett Nagle, Captain, 
John Dwyer, Captain, 
Michael Gallagher, Captain, 
Lawrence Peynolds, Surgeon, 
James J. Pureell, Assistant Surgeon, 
Chas. Smart. Assistant Surgeon, 
Richard P. Moore, Captain, 
John C. Foley, Adjutant, 
John W. Byron, 1st I/eutenant, 
D. F. Sullivan, 1st Lieut, and E. Q. M., 
Jas. J. McCormack, Lieut and Quart'r. 
John O'Neill, Lieutenant, 
Wm. McClellan, 2nd Lieutenant, 
John Madigan, Lieutenant, 
James J. .Smith. 1st Lieut, and Adj't. 
Edmund B. Nagle. 2nd Lieutenant, 
Miles McDonald, 1st Lieut, and Adjt., 
John J. Hurley, 1st Lieutenant, 
Edw. B. Carroll, 2nd Lieutenant, 
James Gallagher, 2nd Lieutenant, 
John Ryan, 1st Lieutenant, 
Matthew Hart. 2nd Lieutenant, 
Bernard S. O'Neil, 1st Lieutenant, 
John Dillon Mulhall, 1st Lieut., 
Matthew Murphy, 1st Lieutenant, 
Luke Brennan, 1st Lieutenant, 
Robert Laffin, 2nd Lieutenant, 
W. L. D. O'Grady, 2nd Lieutenant, 
P. J. O'Connor, 1st Lieutenant, 
Edward Lee, 1st Lieutenant, 
Patrick Maher. 1st Lieutenant, 
David Burk, Lieutenant, 
Martin Scully. 1st Lieutenant, 
Richard A. Kelly, 1st Lieutenant, 
Joseph M. Burns, Lieuteuaut, 
James E. Bvrne, Lieutenant, 
Dominiek Connolly, 2nd Li-.'utenant, 
John J. Sellors, 2nd Lieutenant, 
William Quirk, Captain, 
Patrick Chamber, 1st Lieutenant, 
Patrick Callaghan, 1st Lieutenant, 
Patrick Ryder, Captain. 
Patrick M. Havertv, 1st Lieut, and 
R. Q. M., 



63rd New York, Company B. 

Irish Brigade. 

63rd New York, Company I. 

Co. B., 88th New York. 

69th New York. 

69th New York. 

63rd New York. 

88th New York. 

63rd New 'Y'ork. 

G3rd New York. 

63rd New York. 

63rd New York, Company A. 

88th New York. 

88th New York, Company E. 

69th New York. 

63rd New York. 

88th New York. 

88th New York, Company G. 

8Sth New York. 

69th New York. 

88th New York, Company D. 

63rd New York. 

63rd New York, Company I. 

63rd New York, Company B. 

63rd New York, Company F. 

63rd New York, Company G. 

63rd New York, Company K. 

69th New York. 

69th New York. 

69th New York. 

69th New York. 

69th New York. 

88th New York, Company II. 

63rd New Y'ork, Company 10. 

Cord New York, Company A. 

63rd New York, Company ,G. 

69th New York. 

69th New York. 

69th New York. 

69th New Y'ork. 

88th New New. 

63rd New York, Company IT. 

63rd Xew Y'ork. 

63rd New Y'ork, Company E. 

63rd New Y'ork, Company EL 

69th New York, Co mpany G. 

88th New York. 

S8th New York. 



30 APPENDIX. 



NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE 88th REGIMENT TO GEN- 
ERAL MEAGHER. 

" CAMP OF THE 88th N. Y. S. V., ) 
May 21st. 1SG3. J 

" To Brigadier-General Thomas F. Meagher: 

"Beloved General — Seldom, if ever, has a more mournful duty devolved 
on a soldier than now devolves on a few of that devoted band of Irish- 
men that rallied at your call around the Green Flag of our native laud, 
and who are here now to evince their sincere and heartfelt sorrow at the 
loss of our indomitable leader, a brave companion, and a stern patriot, as 
well as to extend their congratulations at your returning in all your manly 
pride and spotless integrity, to the domestic scenes of your own tire-side. 

"Appreciating as we do the motives that actuated your resignation, 
nevertheless, we feel that whatever the advantages may accrue to us, if 
any. are purchased at too great a cost, and tells deeply the feelings and 
relations that existed between the General an I ids men. 

"The first to lead us to victory, we fonr'ly hoped it would be your 
proudest honor, as it was your highest ambition, to lead us back again to 
our homes, but through the inscrutable wisdom of an all-wise War Depart- 
ment it will be reserved for you instead to welcome back what has been, 
or will be left, of what was once known, and proudly so, as Meagher's 
Irish Brigade."' 

"Present to our lady patron. Mrs. Meagher, our happiest congratula- 
tions, at your sate return; and assure her, through us. that what is left of 
the 88th will still endeavor to hold, by a high soldierly bearing, that claim 
on her affections as of old, when you, yourself, led us to battle. 

"In conclusion, General, we tender yon the following resolutions, and, 
believe us, they are not the seltish offerings of interested followers, nor the 
cool, well digested, and carefully worde 1 productions of sage and matured 
veterans, but they are, General, the spontaneous ofl'e ings of young heads, 
young hearts, and young blood, that will always rally at your call around 
that Flag for which you have sacrificed so much and braved so many dan- 
gers; and trusting, General, that the recollections of tins meeting will in 
after years compensate for many days of wearied toil and profitless hard- 
ships, it is, therefore 

ii Resolved — That we, the non-commissioned officers of the 88th Regiment, 
N. Y. S. V., duly authorized and appointed in behalf of the regiment, 
express in words too feeble to convey their sorrow, their regret, at the 
retirement of their General, Thomas Francis Meagher. 

" Resolved — That in tendering his resignation he was prompted by the 
highest chivalric principles and uns> Irish aims, and consequently meets the 
approbation of his men. 

"Resolved — That the foregoing resolutions and address be presented by 
a committee of the non-commissioned officers of the S8th Regiment, N. Y. S. V. 

Signed on behalf of the Regiment: 
Patrick McCabe, Sergeant-Major. John Desmond, Sergeant, Company C. 



APPENDIX. 



31 



Thomas Smith. Quartermaster-Surgeon, 

Richard E. Dowdall, Hospital-Steward. 

John McDonnell. Commissary-Sergeant, 

William J. O'Connor, 1st Sergeant, 
Company A. 

Richard Finnan, 1st Serg ant, Com- 
pany B. 

Benedict J. O'Driscoll, 1st Sergeant,. 
Company C. 

R. McDonald, 1st Sergeant, Company 
D. 

George Ford, 1st Sergeant, Company 
E. 

James Carr, 1st Sergeant, Company F. 

Lawrence Buckley, 1st Sergeant, Com- 
pany G. 

John Meighan, 1st Sergeant, Company 
H. 

Michael McGrane, 1st Seigeant, Com- 
pany I. 

Henry Southwell, 1st Sergeant, Com- 
pany K. 



Richard S. Harrison, Sergeant, Com- 
pany C. 

James Fox, Seigeant, Company C. 

Patrick O'Neill, Seigeant, Company B 

George Geoghegan, Sergeant, Com- 
pany B. 

Hugh Curry, Sergeant, Company K. 

Timothy J. Murray, Sergeant, Com- 
pany I. 

Dennis Leonard, Sergeant, Company I. 

Thomas McDonald, Sorgeant, Com- 
pany I. 

John McGowan, Sergeant, Company 
D. 

John B. Sparks, Sergeant, Company 
A. 

Joseph Hylaud, Sergeant, Company 
E. 

Edward Wilson, Sergeant, Company 
E. . 

John Morton, Seigeant, < ompany E. 

Thomas Hair, Sergeant, Company E. 



RESOLUTIONS OF THE OFFICELS OF THE 116th REGIMENT PENN- 
SYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS, IRISH BRIGADE. 



" headquarters 116th pennsylvania volun- ~\ 
tebrs, Irish Brigade, Hancock's Division, 

Second Army Corps, May 13th, 1863. ) 

"At a meeting of the commissioned officers of the 116th Pensylvania 
Volunteers, Major St. Clair A. Mulholland, was called to the Chair, and 
1st Lieutenant Louis J. Sacristie was appointed Secretary. The following- 
preamble and resolutions were proposed and unanimously adopted : 

" Whereas — By the acceptance of the resignation of our beloved General, 
Thomas Frances Meagher, we have been deprived of one who was always 
solicitous for our comfort and welfare. Therefore, be it 

" Rpsolved — That hy the resignation of Brigadier General Meagher, this 
Brigade, and especially this Regiment, experiences an irreparable loss — one 
which is felt alike by officers and men; we have been deprived of a leader 
whom we all would have followed to death, if necessary; a leader whose 
name was sufficient to strike terror into the hearts of his foes, and admira- 
tion into the hearts of his co-patriots in arms. 

" Resolved — That in the discharge of his official duties he exhibited alike 
those qualities which only a true soldier can possess — when on duty a 
strict disciplinarian, when off duty an affable, agretable, and kind companion. 



32 



APPENDIX. 



" Resolved — That as a soldier he was foremost in the battle, offering; his 
life as a sacrifice for the cause of Liberty and the Constitution of his adopted 
country — which country has lost, by his resignation, oue of its most patri- 
otic Generals, oue of its most daring soldiers, and the army one of its 
brightest ornaments. 

" Eesolved — That in his retirement to civil life he carries with him our 
most sincere wishes for his future welfare, and we earnestly hope that his 
future life may be as successful as his past career has been brilliant and 
honorable. 

St. Clair A. Mulholland, Major, commanding HGth Pennsylvania Volunteers. 

John Teed, Captain, commanding Company G, 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers. 

S. G. Willinar, Captain, commanding Company A, 116th Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteers. 

Garrett Nowlin, Captain, commanding Company B, 116th Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteers. 

Louis J. Sacriste, 1st Lieutenant, commanding Company D, 116th Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers. 

Richard H. Wade, Lieutenant and Quartermaster, 116th Pennsylvania Vol- 
unteers. 

H. O. Price, 1st Lieutenant and Acting Adjutant, 116th Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers. 

Francis Crawford, 1st Lieutenant, 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers 

George Roeder, 1st Lieutenant, Company A, 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers. 

Wm. B. Hartman, Assistant-Surgeon, 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers. 

"Win. H. Tyrrell. 2d Lieutenant, Company C, 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers. 

George Halpin, 2d Lieutenant, Company A, 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers. 

Thos. McXight, 2d Lieutenant, Company B, 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BY BRIGADIER -GENERAL THOMAS FRANCIS 
MEAGHER, OF THE NEW COLORS. 

Presented to the Irish Bridade in the Army of the Potomae by the 
following American-born Citizens of New York : 



Henry F. Sfaulding, 
James T. swift, 
Siii:!i rd KnaPP, 
Thomas F. Youngs, 
Newton ( iarpenter, 
Walter Vail. 
Charles n. Fearing, 
Marten Bates, 
John H. Mortimer, 
Joseph A. Sfrague, 
George Bliss, 



Samuel D. Babcock, 
Agustus Cleveland, 
Benjamin C. Townsend, 
William H. Hayes, 
n. sullivan, 
Thomas Cuthbert, 
P. G. Weaver, 
Henry E. Lawrence, 
Levi P. Morton, 
Luke W. Thomas, 
Henry E. Clark, 
Charles F. Livermore. 



Henry A. Smythe, 
Hugh N. Camp, 
A. Van Nest, 

A. M. Young, 
Edward Fuller, 
M. Furman Hunt, 
George E. Colluss, 
George G. Kellog, 

B. Hurxthal, 
Lewis Ballard, 
Isaac P. Martin, 



APPENDIX. 



New York, February 5th, 1863. 
My Dear Sir : 

"I am sure you have not ascribed to a want of courtesy, still less to 
a rude indifference, the delay with which I gratefully acknowledge the Stand 
of Colors you have, in conduction with many of the most valued and influ- 
ential Citizens of New York, presented to the Irish Brigade. 

"Many duties of an official character, many private engagements of a 
character hardly less urgent, have up to this late moment compelled me to 
defer the duty it is now my happy privilege to discharge. 

" The colors reached the Brigade the evening after the assault of the 
Federal forces on the fortified heights behind Fredericksburg. Many a brave 
officer — many a brave soldier — who had proudly looked forward to the hour 
of their arrival lay dead in his frozen blood that evening on the battle-field, 
denied for ever the satisfaction he had glowingly cherished in anticipation. 

" Their comrades received the colors with pride, with gratefulness, with 
the loftiest enthusiasm. 

" In the very heart of the city of Fredericksburg — under the fiercest 
play of shot and shell from the rifle-pits and batteries of the enemy — the 
General, commanding the Brigade, displayed them to the remnant of his 
command, as the splendid tributes which native-born Americans — men of the 
highest private worth and widely-acknowledged civic and social consequence 
— had awarded to the Irish Brigade for the guod service it had rendered 
in the great cause of the Constitution and the Chief-Magistracy of the 
American Union. 

"Federal officers of brilliant reputation and superior rank — most of 
them American-born citizens — witnessed by invitation the presentation of 
these Colors, and heartily shared the sentiments and emotions inspired by 
the occasion, whilst at the same time, they did the officers of the Brigade 
the honor to sit down at the table — which had been spread in the Theatre 
of the lire-swept city — to commemmorate the liberality and patriotism which 
suggested those tributes, and then so gracefully and grandly bestowed them. 

"The Commandants of the Begiments to which these Colors had been 
presented, having gratefully acknowledged them, declined with a soldierly 
bearing — the sterness of which was softened by a delicate courteousness of 
tone aud a noble sorrowfulness — to receive and carry them; stating that 
their numbers had been so reduced, they could not in conscience undertake 
to defend with honor, treasures that were, and ever should be, inlinit. ly 
dearer to them than there lives. 

"On my departure, shortly afterwards, to New York — in compliance 
with the injunction of every officer and soldier of the Brigade — I brought 
back the Colors which had been sent to replace those old and illustrious 
ones, which, flying defiantly in the face of the enemy on no less than ten 
momentous battle-fields, had never once been grasped, even for an instant, 
by any other than a friendly hand. 

" These beauteous and sumptuous new Colors remain in New York, until 
the Irish Brigade, reinforced as it should be, shall have the power to carry 
and defend them, as the two Countries and the cause they symbolize, with 
» 3 



34 APPENDIX. 



the most sacred influences and a supreme authority demand they should be 
borne and guarded. 

" Such is. so far, the history of these Colors. Brief though it he, the 
record is full of interest, includes one of the most memorable events and 
scenes of the war. and discloses fully, with a singular emphasis and effect, 
the devotion of the Irish Brigade to the legitimate purpose for which it 
was called forth. 

•• With a singular emphasis and effect, 1 say, this little history discloses 
this great devotion. For never before. 1 believe, did brave and proud soldiers 
decline to carry new Colors, being forced to such an act of abnegation by 
the consciousness that death had dealt with them so mercilessly, under their 
old Colors, as to render that act one of conscience and religious obligation. 

••Having written this much, nothing remains for me, my Dear Sir. but 
to assure you that, whilst a soldier of the Irish Brigade survives, your name, 
as one of those munificent friends from whom he received his new Colors, 
shall, as a golden thread, he ever interwoven with his memories of the warfare 
in which he has been engaged: a warfare in which nothing but his clearly- 
worded oath of Citizenship, and a grateful sense of what his Pace on this 
Continent owe to the grand soul of the Founders of the Republic, and to 
the all-heniticent wisdom of its Constitution, could have induced or prevailed 
on him to engage. Be assured, moreover, that whilst this Constitution 
survives all violations, to demand for its stately purity a defender — whilst, 
this Republic, as Washington inaugurated and Andrew Jackson confirmed it, 
demands for its salvation a strong arm and a devoted heart, even unto 
death — neither the one nor the other shall fail to find a Champion whilst 
there lives a soldier of the Irish Brigade. 

•• With sincere assurances, and with the most grateful regard. I remain, 
my Dear Sir, faithfully and cordially your friend, 

, THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 

To Henry F. Spaulding, Esq. 



In the work of preparing that portion of this Memoir appertaining to 
General Meagher's American career, I have received incalculable assistance 
ami sympathetic encouragement from Mrs. General Meagher — who kindly 
placed at my disposal an invaluable collection of private and official docu- 
ments, in print and MSS., which I have utilized to the best of my judgment. 
and for which 1 tender that estimable lady my most grateful acknowledg- 
ments and sincere thanks. 

M. C. 



INDEX. 



A. 










PA OK 






PAGE 


Condon, Thomas W., . 


. 45 


A change of base, 




. 51 


Conciliation Hall, 


. 38 


A distingaistiecUFranco-lr 


ishman. 


. 12;: 


Confederation, council of. 


. 206 


Address to the French people, 


. 101 


Constitutional conspirators, . 


. 196 


Address of the medical st 


udents of 




Constitutional warfare, 


. 116 


Dublin, 




. 1:10 


Cork, and its environs, 


. 45 


Antisel, Dr., Thomas, . 




. i:io 


Corcoran, Col. Michael, 


370, 3S8 


An eventful week in the I 


ish capi- 




Fort, construction of. 


. 380 


tal, 




. no 


" reminiscences of, 


. 386 


An unconventional in trod 


iction, 


. 117 


Crimean war, and the hopes it 


in- 


An effective object lesson, 




. 137 


spired, . 


• . 344 


A poetical tour, 




. 43 


" Croppies lie down," . 


. 14T, 


Astley, Mr., 




. 145 


Curry, Francis, 
Curran, John A., 


. 96 
. 115 


B. 






D. 




Barricades, in the city of, 




. 119 






Battle of Fair Oaks, . 






. 443 


Davis, Thomas, 


. 33 


Of Antietam, 






. 458 


Death of, . 


. 46 


* »f Fredericksburg:. 






463 


Davis, Francis, 


. 45 


Of Chancellorsville. 






483 


Death feast, the, 


. 471 


Beauregard, Gen., 






390 


Dillon, John B., 


:i;:, 116 


Birney, Michael, 






141 


Discussing the situation, 


. si 


Brennan, Mr.. . 






143 


Doheny, Michael, . 71, 


224, 230 


British blackguardism, 






158 


Doyle, James, 


. 151 


Browne, Col., . 






137 


Dublin club-men, the, 


. 12S 


Bull Bun campaign, 






3SS 


Dublin, during the state trials, 


. ::7 



c. 



Cappoquin, 


. 44 


Carrick-ou-Suir, 


. 263 


Scenes in, . 


. 264 


< lavanagh, Major, 


. 440 


Castle Garden July 27, 1852, 


. 324 


Chartists, English, 


. 158 


Clear field and no favor. 


. 332 


Closing scenes, . 


. 299 


Clongowes, 


. 17 


Clontarf meeting, 


. 36 



Dublin voices the national sentiment. 100 
Duffy, Charles Gavan, . 33, si 

Duffy, C. G., arrest of, . .218 

Duffy, John, .... 147 



E. 



English, Andrew, 
Esmonde, Dr., . 



Fair Oaks to Malvern 11 il 
Famine, the, 



si 
139 



44S 
76 



m 



INDEX. 



TAGE 

Felon, the .... 199 

Finnerty, Peter, . . 143, 148 

First flag-raising over battlements 

in Virginia, . . . 382 

Fitzgerald, Edward, Lord, . . 142 

" Flag, the starry," song, . . 383 

Following the leader, . . . 253 

Frazer, John J., . . .45 

French revolution, the, . . 97 



Gavnor, Patrick, 



ii. 



J- 

Jesuit?, Christmas with, 
Johnson, Pev. William, 

K. 

Kenyon, Father John, 
Kirwiu, tlie spy, 



L39 



Habeas Corpus, .suspens 


ion of 


240 


Hancock, General, 




467 


Hardy, Mr.. 




145 


Heain, Capt, John D., 




m 


Hughes. Archbishop. . 




3S8 


Address over Terence Bellew 




McMauus, 




419 


Hyland, David, 




137 


I. 

Irish confederation, 




76 


Ireland, P, D., . 




115 


Irish Felon, the, 




215 


Irish tribune, 




. 215 


Irish welcome, an. 




. 302 


Irish News, publication 


of. . 


. 340 


Irish soldiers, how they prepared 




for battle, 




3S7 


Irish Brigade, departuie of. . 


. 425 


At Fair Oaks, 




. 432 


Casualties of, 




. 462 


Irish Pities, 37th N. Y. 


v., . 


. 441 



Lane, John, .... 121 
Lee, Gen. P. E.. testimony, . . 470 

Leonard, John P., . 121, 123, 124 



M. 

Magrath, Pan, . . .111, 

Martin, John, . • 74, 

Martin, John, tribute to his memory, 

Mathew, Father, 

McMahon, Marshal, 

McMauus, Funeral, 

McGee, Thomas Parcy. 

MeNeviu, Thomas, 

Meeting the leader, 

Meagher, Thomas F.. genealogy of, 

Arrest of, . 

As a journalist, 

A Fenian, . 

and Shiel, . 

(losing scenes, 

Entry into public life, 

Eradication of the Irish brogue. 

Escape from Australia 

First political speech, 

First unconstitutional speech, 

His American wife, 

Irish Zouaves, 

Impressions of France 

In Conciliation hall, 

In New York, 

Incidents of visit. 

In Stoneyhurst, . 

In America, 

In the South, 

In Memoriam, 

In Paris, 

In Tennessee, 

Last public speech in Du 

Last days in Ireland, 

Leaving home, 

Lectures on Australia. 

Life in Australia, . 

Memoirs of forty-eight, 

Of the sword, 



283 
242 
216 

33 
123 
416 

84 

41 
316 
9 
224 
342 
361 

21 
403 

46 

29 
306 

35 
104 
345 
379 
160 

47 
44 S 
451 

27 



495 
123 
492 
228 
295 

15 
335 
301 
245 

33 



INDEX. 



37 



Meagher, Thomas, Francis, 

On tlio policy of the repeal as- 
sociation, . . i 48 
On Mitchell, . . . 20!) 
On McManus, . . . 364 
Oration on Gen. Corcoran, . 350 
Parentage and birth, . . 12 
Presentation to, . . . 474 
Presentation of the Kearney 

cross, ..... 488 
Recollections of, . . . 125 

Response to America's welcome. 319 
Speech on resolutions on the 

Irish confederation, . . 85 

Speech at Waterford, Feb. 19th, 

1S4S, . . . .91 

Speech, March 22, 1848, . . IIS 

Speech on Slievenamon, . . 2.38 

Speranza on, . . "70 

Sword speech, . . . 59 

Takes command of the 69th, . 391 

Travels in Central America, . ,'547 

Trial of, . . . . 291 

Twentieth birthday, . . 35 

Mitchell. Henrietta, . . . 123 

Mitchell. John, 47, 53, 81, 135, 19S, 202 

Morgan, Francis, . . . 115 

Moran, Michael, . . . 256 

Mnlley, Father. . . 9. 44 

N. 

National League, the, . . 212 

National Press, the, . . . 215 

Ninety-eight, Recollections of, . 142 

o. 



O'Brien, W. Smith,. . 


38, 40 


Debates on resolutions, 


81, 150, 




243, 348 


O'Connell, Daniel, 


. 35, 37, 55 


O'Connell, Maurice, 


39, 40 


< >"( onnell. John. 


. 56 


< )'< onnell, Daniel, Junr., 


. 56 


O'Connor, Arthur, 


. 143 


O'Donahue, P., 


. 115 









TAGE 


O'Doherty, Kevin Izod, 








130 


Arrest of, . 








219 


Trial and conviction 


, 






220 


O'Eire macroidhe ta m' 


ntin 


n ort, 




song, . 








408 


O'Flaherty, Martin. 






115, 


122 


O'Flanagan, Thomas, . 






142, 


147 


O'Gorman, Richard. 




43 


, 53 


494 


O'Hagan, John, 








115 


O'Mahony, John, 


130, 


265, 


370 


493 


O'Reilly, Eugene, 






84, 


123 


Orangemen hostile. 








145 


Overtures for re-union. 








212 



P. 



Pigott, John A., 84 

Personal observations, . .110 

Penalty of patriotism, . . 288 

Pike making, . . . 137 

Press, newspaper, . . 143 
Protestant repeal association, 

the, . . . .214 



R. 

Resolutions of the Irish confedera 

tion, 
Recollections of '98, 
Regimental duel, 
Reilly, Thomas Devin, . 
Revival of an old Irish industry 
Robinson. Hon. W. E , 



. 142 
. 450 
84, 115 
. 132 
. 427 



s. 



Sampson, Councillor, . 




. 148 


Savage, John, . 




130, 383 


Scraps of history. 




. 191 


Secession, the, . 




24, 56 


Immediate consequences 


of, 


. 67 


From, to the formation 


of 


the 


Irish confederation, 




. 73 


Sheehan, Rev. John, . 




. 26 


Sheil, Richard L, 




. 43 


Shields, Gen , . 




. 425 


Sirr, Major, 




. 145 



INDEX. 



Sixty-ninth, departure of, 

in Virginia, 

in advance, 

under fire, . 

casualties at Bull-run. 

return of, . 

festival, 
Slievenamon meeting, . 
Smith, Patrick J., 
Smith. John, 
Smith, Richard, 
Speranza, on .Meagher, 
" Sprigs of green," 
State prisoners, farewell add 

the, . 
Stoneyhurst, Theatricals at. 
Stritch, Andrew 11., . 
Stockdale, John, 
Sullivan, T. D,, 
Sullivan. Donald, 



PAGE 

. 373 
. 380 
. 391 
. 393 

. 403 
. 406 
. 413 
. 23G 
. 43 
. 139 
. 141 
. 70 
. 4GG 
of 
. 298 
. 28 
. 160 
. 148 
. 123 
. 149 



Taaffe, Charles, 


115 


Taking the field 


245 


The aggregate meeting, 


113 


The French revolution, 


97 


The famine, 


76 


The Irish confederation, 


76 


The secession, . 


56 


The United Irishman, 


98 







PAGE 


The United Irish club. 




. 121 


The young patriot leader, 




. 71 


Timon, Bishop, 




. 388 


Tone, Theobald Wolfe, 




. 99 


Traitors and spies in Washington. 


. 389 


Treason felony bill. 




. 150 


Trials, the. 




. 290 



u. 

Unite! Irishman, the. 
United Irish club, the, 



Veterans of •• '98. 



V. 



w. 



99 
121 



139 



Ward. Robert, . 


. Ill 


283 


War for the Union, opening of, 


367 


Watterson, Henry, 




385 


Watson, J. B , . 




115 


Waterford election, the, 


89 


277 


West, Dr., 




115 


Welpley, < laptain Frank. 


149 


408 


Whitworth, .Mr.. 




143 


Williams, Richard Dalton, 




130 


His career in America, 




221 


His death. . 




221 


Williams, John, 




115 



31^77-2 






